


Bejeweled

by Lore-Lei (The_Syreth_Clan)



Category: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Friendship, Gen, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-11
Updated: 2015-01-05
Packaged: 2018-05-24 04:19:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 88,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6141274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Syreth_Clan/pseuds/Lore-Lei
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><img/><br/>
Some say opposites attract, just like magnets. After entering into a co-operative fashion contest with a randomly chosen pony, Rarity has to face the fact that this statement is not always true.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. New beginnings

Canterlot, the train station. A place that was usually extremely busy in the middle of the day, and almost empty at night. Luckily for Rarity and her sister, she got to arrive somewhere in between the two. The sun was on its way down, but far from the typical romantic sunset seen in brochures and movies. A sudden gust of cold wind hit her off-white coat, sending a visible chill down the spine of the unicorn. She never could get used to the climate after hopping off the warm train, no matter how many times it happened.

"Tell me again, why are we have?" her little sister asked, dumbfounded. The price of not listening on the train, just staring out her skull instead. Rarity even gave back that irritated look that matched the obvious question.

"Did you even listen to me on the way here?" she asked. It was a rhetoric question of course, no need for an answer. "I told you I've entered a co-operative design contest a week ago."

Sweetie knew it now that she have been reminded, but in all honesty, after minutes upon minutes of hearing Rarity rambling about the possibility of maybe getting a real 'Prince Charming' to work with, she stopped caring. That reminded her why she tagged along the first place.

"Oh yeah, the lottery!" Sweetie shouted in excitement "We'll find out who're you going to get as a pair."

Rarity hummed and nodded as a response, taking her beautiful, white luggage off the train, and grabbing its handle with a touch of her turquoise magic. They were better get going, the lottery was to begin soon and it was held in a quite fancy theatre, followed by a bit of hanging out in a nearby restaurant for a couple bites. The whole thing was to take for some time, at least that's what Rarity was told, however they planned to spend the night over here in Canterlot anyway. She just hoped it's going to be okay if she brought her sister along to the event, after all, she couldn't leave her alone.

"Stay right by me, Sweetie Belle! Don't get lost out here." she ordered with strict words as she lead the way through the crowd. She often checked back to see her by her hind legs, but that didn't make her stop worrying. Sweetie was a good filly, of course, she'd never go wander around without a reason... hopefully. Still, the unicorn decided to keep talking with her as a sort of reminder.

"Who do you think I'll get as a teammate?" she asked, as the two left the train station and made their way deeper into the city.

"Ugh, I don't know." sounded the reply.

"Well, you do have to have some idea. Tell me what do you think he or she'd look like." Rarity responded, not giving up just yet. She had a nasty trait of being a bit of forgetful when it came to details, her thoughts often focusing too much on a single topic, leaving out the rest. A thing she probably picked up during of her job as a seamstress.

Sweetie Belle hummed, tapping her lips as she tried coming up with something she thought she'd like. After a couple seconds, and turn into a rather small alley, a something began to form out of the nothing.

"Maybe he's going to be a cool guy," she explained "with badass shades, and a cool mohawk."

Rarity raised an eyebrow at that. "Really? I do hope that won't be the case." Where did that idea came from, she didn't know, but she didn't like it. In fact, some horrid punk was the last thing she'd want on her back to deal with. Was it this dark backstreet that gave her sister such terrible ideas, or did she pick this up from one of her classmates? Whatever it wa she hoped she grows out of it as soon as possible, it was not fitting for her sweet little sister.

One alley lead into another, this one being what looked like an endless climb of stairs. Good thing there was a solid, flat track by its side she could drag her luggage up on. Rarity sighed as she took the first step of the bunch, if there was something she didn't like about Canterlot was the height differences that can make it a real pain to get around. Not to mention this shortcut she planned seemed rather eerie with absolutely no light coming in between the small gap of the houses. It was just like in those movies where a strange hoof emerges from the shadows, silencing and dragging in its victim. She's never going to take these routes again, that's for sure.

 

~~~

 

After what felt like forever, the backstreet reunited with one of the main ones again. If Rarity's plans were correct they were exactly by the corner of the very theatre they were going to go to.

"Rarity..." a moan broke her determination from behind. Sweetie Belle didn't seem like her legs could handle another step forwards, she huffed in exhaustion, her face all red and her hooves trembling. Rarity didn't know how much time they had, but she let her sister catch her breath before continuing. She didn't spoil her though, she knew that the filly could spend hours trying to do it.

"Just a little more Sweetie, come on." Rarity replied after what seemed like forever to her, turning around and going on. That forced the filly to get going, despite the clear disdain on her face. They were there, the yellow wall was a clear sign that it was the place they were looking for. Rarity shifted up a gear in the finish line, but refrained from running, she didn't want to leave Sweetie Belle behind. The gigantic and well-decorated door, and mostly, the two masks on them signing that it's a theatre just amplified Rarity's relief. She pressed the old doorbell button by the side, and a second later, the door opened with a small click.

"Oh, Miss Rarity." a pink unicorn with a smooth, lavender mane greeted her "Greetings."

"Good afternoon..." Rarity replied, trying to put the name afterwards, but having difficulties finding it. She knew this mare, she's been with her Celestia knows how long ago, and could recall her face clearly. The name. What was her name?!

"Royal Ribbon." she finished it, a small chuckle "It has been a long time indeed."

The two shook hooves, and the memories slowly started flooding back into the unicorn. Oh yes, Royal Ribbon, the mare she met about a year ago, they were introduced to one another by Fancy Pants on a... Wonderbolt derby, perhaps?

"Yes, maybe a bit too long, indeed." Rarity replied. Keeping up connections, especially ones within the Canterlot elite was ever so important to her, she was not to waste this opportunity. Ribbon however, had other plans in her mind apparently.

"Come, let's get you two inside. The others are already here." she explained, showing the two the way. From the small hall that had a floor similar to a chessboard, they were led through a simple wooden door on the right marked as 'Staff Only'. Behind the door lied a rather less pretty sight, a gray and dull stairway, and yet another door on the left, which Royal Ribbon took her way towards. Rarity could already hear plenty of ponies conversing about something through it.

On the other side was a smaller meeting hall, one most often seen in movies. The only difference was the more traditional atmosphere provided by the wooden furniture and old carpet, and that the table was a lot smaller than in those movies. Nobody really used that though, it was put aside completely to allow some space for the little lottery machine up front: a glass orb full of folded papers, standing on steel supports.

The room was almost full with the contestants, plus one pony that Rarity instantly recognized from her... unique face structure. Prim Hemline. That Prim Hemline, Manehatten's most well-known, and possibly most merciless fashion critic.

"Good afternoon everyone." Rarity greeted them, her tail drawing her quiet little sister even closer to her hind legs.

"Rarity, I presume." the old gray mare replied "Good, then everyone arrived early, I like that."

"Then, if there are no objections we could begin our little drawing earlier." Royal Ribbon suggested, getting a good number of hums and nods from the ones around her. She stepped up by the lottery machine, next to Miss Hemline, while the others did their best to form a half-circle around them. Royal Ribbon took a second to clear her throat, which caused everyone to quiet down.

"Greetings everyone, and welcome to the Second Co-operative Fashion Contest hosted by yours truly once more. While the rules and regulations have been in the letter I've sent previously, let's make a quick review of them. As the name suggests, this is a contest with groups of two we're to assign randomly just now. Each group is going to have two weeks to create one piece of work to showcase in the upcoming show. Teammates cannot be swapped, switched around or replaced. Any questions?"

Silence.

"Good, then if everything is clear, may I ask Miss Hemline to spin the wheel."

The critic just nodded, taking the handle on the side of the machine and rotating it slowly. After a couple seconds and two or three spins, she aligned the tiny hatch on the side so it could face towards her partner and stopped there. Royal Ribbon took the first paper falling into her hooves and took it out.

"Collar Reef." she read it out loud, putting the paper down on the tiny table by her side, then closing the hatch again. In the meanwhile, Rarity took the moment to look around. Nobody seemed to be all that anxious about this, they kept a perfectly still face. Understandable, it wasn't until it was your name when things started to get interesting. Besides, from the looks of it, nopony knew nopony in here... except that one on the very left side. She was white, much like Rarity, having a long blonde mane. She was standing on the very edge of the row, and her face was covered by her mane. A description that fit someone notorious enough that-

"Pop Couture."

Yes. It was 'her'. Rarity sighed in the inside, but remained completely still outside. Unlike said mare who let out a subtle, phlegmatic huff as she saw the piece of paper with her name being put next to the previous one. The next round began.

"Patchway."

"Oh good heavens." a tan stallion with a slender build and a brown mane and a pink scarf replied, fluttering his hooves as he started breaking down in anxiety. The lottery machine kept spinning on, however. He kept shifting his gaze between that and the others, looking for the possibilities.

"De'Sine." Royal Ribbon announced.

"Me." the slightly chubby spoke up just next to him, with an oddly similar color combination, sans the pink scarf, and a slightly darker shade of a mane.

"Really? What a coincidence." he spoke up, both ending up in a smaller laughing fit. The two sure got warmed up to one another previously, at least that's what Rarity wrote down from their behavior. Rarity felt something pressing against her hind leg on the left. Upon looking, it turned out that was but an excessively bored Sweetie Belle who couldn't stand the standing any longer. How typical, what was a wonderful opportunity for her career, meant absolutely nothing to her.

"Sweetie Belle!" she whispered in anger.

"Rarity."

She froze solid for a second. A sudden wave of vapors washed over her, a slight hint of her nervousness along with her quicker heartbeat. Who she's going to get? The two stallions were already taken, so it will be a mare. At least not Pop Couture, luckily.

"Agate."

Agate? Agate, Agate, no, the name told her nothing. She didn't know anyone such from before. From the right end of the row, a hoof was waving at her, pale yellow. Was that Agate? She had a slightly messy, purple mane, two-toned and short, split apart by her unicorn horn. She had a gentle smile on her face, but her amethyst eyes were giving off different emotions. Disinterest, and a bit of anger as well. Now that she thought about it, she was the one standing by the side of the room as well, all alone. Strange.

After a couple spins, with only four contestants left to sort out, Royal Ribbon took another paper. Two papers, in fact, one of them somehow ending up in the fold of the other and refusing to let go.

"Well, look at that." she exclaimed with a slightly awkward face as the stealthy little paper popped out during the unfold, falling on the floor "Sew-n-So and... La-la Loopie." she exclaimed, picking up the other one and opening that as well.

A loud neigh was heard as the white, pink-maned mare reared up in joy, squealing like a fangirl and clapping. It didn't take her two seconds to come to her senses and slip out a small apology. Rarity was interested in that other mare though, she had an orange coat, with a long mane similar to Agate's in terms of color. Two pretty, blue ribbons tied her mane into locks on either side, with a much larger one just by her tail. So that was Sew-n-So? Rarity have heard of her before but never seen her.

"I suppose we all know the two that was left."

 

~~~

 

The lottery was over, everyone was given a small reminder of the meeting in the next hour, but Rarity had something to get done beforehand. She couldn't just bring Sweetie Belle into a hi-class party like that, as much as she was afraid of it, she had to leave her somewhere. A hotel was her best bet, now only if she'd have known which one. Luckily, she overheard something the way outside that was to come in real handy soon.

Now if they could just catch up to that Agate girl the way out. The unicorn sure was in a rush, leaving the pack behind on the way outside. The fact that they also had luggage to pick up made it even worse, as she had no such things with herself. Yes, she was most definitely living here in Canterlot.

"Sweetie, go after her while I take up the luggage." she whispered to her sister, who took a glance at the mustard colored mare shutting the door behind her. Then, with a nod, she rushed after her.

"Mine is the white one, with the diamonds." Rarity turned to the waitress who've been keeping an eye out on the things the visitors bought. She nodded, and took that one, dragging in out from behind her with her mouth. Good thing they've arrived last, otherwise she'd have needed to get her things dug out from the back of the mess. Without any hesitation or thanks, she picked it up with her magic and rushed after her sister.

Sweetie didn't get too far, and she was clever enough not to get out of Rarity's sight but stay in the corner Agate turned at. Good girl.

"She went this way." she pointed at the street on the corner, opposing the direction they came from. Rarity took no chances, she hurried to catch up to the mare as fast as she could.

"Miss Agate?" she called out once she got to her, receiving a curious hum as a response. "I'm Rarity, we were chosen to be a team just before, nice to meet you. Oh, and this is my sister, Sweetie Belle." she introduced themselves, her words still running fast away from her mouth from the previous adrenaline rush.

"Yeah, same, I'm Agate." the other one replied, still not really interested in the situation apparently. Moreover, Rarity could spot a bit of melancholy in that voice, how odd. The two quickly shook hooves, which was more or less just Agate gripping into Rarity's limb for a second and then letting go, continuing on her way.

"By chance I've noticed you're not carrying anything with you, I suspect you live here in the city?" she asked, trying to be as polite as possible.

"Yeah." Agate replied, her voice taking a much more angered approach than previously. That was, up until she suddenly stopped dead on her tracks and gazed back at the unicorn. It was freaking Rarity out for a moment, for that look in her eyes was as if she'd have realized an old enemy was with her. And for a second, it very much felt like so.

"Wait! I know you!" Agate told her, almost shouting "You're Rarity from Ponyville, aren't you?"

"I am, indeed." said unicorn responded, a little bit of pride hidden behind her uncomfortable smile.

"I've heard about you from Fleur, word has been spreading about you lately." Agate explained, getting a satisfied hum from the seamstress as a reward. Strange how she turned so much friendly in a moment's notice, but what struck her even more was that she knew Fleur. Unless she was not talking about the star model Fleur-Dis-Lee, but some other Fleur.

"Say, living here, I'm sure you know a little bit around town, and as much as I'd hate to, I have to leave my sister in good hands." the ivory one confessed, doing her best to keep the pace with Agate as they took a left turn into a tiny sidestreet "Do you know any good hotels around here?"

"Your best bet is leaving her at my forge if you're going somewhere. Don't worry, I'll take care of her." she offered "Good or bad hotel, all are expensive."

"Oh, that's very kind of you but I can't accept it." Rarity replied. This mare sure was special, being so repulsive about everything and yet offering to take in a complete stranger for a couple hours. That, and...

"Did you just say 'forge', by the way?"

Her answer? A coy smile from the unicorn. Rarity didn't understand, some unknown mare with a forge and in a dress competition just didn't add up in any way, shape or form in her head. Maybe the forge was not hers, or someone else was using it, she didn't know. This was all just too confusing to her. Didn't took a lot for the backstreet to reach a pretty street angle downwards, and after a while, Rarity could see it flow right into the main street she knew all too well by now.

"What about you? You want to stay with me while your sis takes care of business?" she turned to Sweetie Belle, who have been a tad too quiet all the while. Rarity made sure it stays that way this time.

"No, thank you." she interrupted, slight anger coming through her voice this time.

"Alright, alright I get it. Hotel. Truth be told, I have no clue, I've never been to too many." Agate replied, holding her hooves in front of her to tell her partner to calm down.

"That is no problem for us, which one were you staying at?" the seamstress inquired.

"This one up ahead."

It was a four horseshoe hotel about a hundred meters ahead, on the other side of the street. Tall building, very similar to the other ones of the city, except for the gigantic logo of a clover put up on the front. Good enough, if she's going to pay for a night she might as well sleep in and go home tomorrow, it wasn't everyday she was going to the big city after all, especially with her sister. Something struck her as very odd though. She's noticed it before, but only now, with a whole lot more ponies around did she notice it. The angered, hostile gazes of ponies around all directed at them. A stallion and a mare, both covered in accessories went past by them, both taking a second to throw a spiteful look and a frown at them, before turning their heads away and moving on. Other, smaller groups started to lean closer and whisper as they all directed their look at them. It was uncomfortable at least, if not outright awkward. It only started since they've been around Agate, though, could she have been the cause of this? Rarity didn't know, but after a couple seconds, she was glad her partner picked a place so close by.

"It will only take a couple minutes, I promise, or we could meet at the party if you wish." Rarity said, delighted now that things were back on track for the time being, even with some bumps and some fog up ahead, so to say.

"Nah, I'm not going." Agate replied, just oozing disgust from her mouth again "I've got better guys to hang out with than a bunch of snobs."

"Pardon?" Rarity replied, her mind blanking out for a second as she tried to put the words together.

"The Royal Guard is having a night out just down the tavern by my workshop, we always go out together." Agate replied "Hope you understand."

"Umm, yes, sure." Rarity responded awkwardly.

"Cool, you change your mind, I'm living just by the next corner on the right, small sidestreet." Agate responded after a delightful gasp "Thank you."

Such a sincere thanks and such a happy expression, like a filly who was allowed to go home earlier at school. Rarity almost felt delighted that she could bring such joy to her partner, if not the complete and utter confusion she was going through right now. This mare was apparently working with steel and not fabric, and on top of that, despised the Canterlot Elite - and from the looks of it, vice versa - yet still was friends with Fleur, plus the Royal Guards? How did she even possibly enter into this contest to begin with? No, this was just too off, something was most definitely going on, and Rarity set out to find this out, if needed the hard way.

She decided not to resort to that for the first time though, she had time aplenty and she was to pay her newfound partner a little visit before setting out to the meeting. First thing first though, she needed to take her sister to somewhere.


	2. The mystery unfolds

The afternoon air was crisp, if not outright chilly in these sidestreets, the ones the Sun hardly saw. Agate's home was just like any other, except that it was in such a smaller alley instead of a big street. It was fancy, it was pretty, it was beautiful. It's walls were white, just like any other houses' as well as the stripy, blue and yellow, pointy roof. From the wall, a bigger hatchment with a hammer and armor was hanging indicating that it is a shop. She was right, it was indeed hard to miss. Just made Rarity even more curious, was she suggesting that hotel because it was so close to her home, or did she just point at the first one she saw? No, she was just making this too complicated, Agate didn't seem like that kind of girl that could scheme something behind her back.

The ivory one was looking for a button or something, anything that could be a doorbell, but to no avail. Not having anything else in her mind, she raised her hoof to sound a couple of loud and clear knocks on that. For a good five seconds, not a faintest sign of answer was seen or heard. The door opened bit by bit until the one inside got a clear sight on who it was.

"Rarity!" Agate shouted, swinging the door open and almost slapping said pony's face off with it.

"Evening to you too." Rarity greeted her back, checking if her nose was still where it was supposed to be.

"Let me guess, it was too expensive in the end." the mustard colored one said with a smug grin on her face.

"No, it was most affordable." Rarity responded in an irritated voice "I just came to ask a couple questions first, mind if I come in?"

"What? Oh! Yeah, sure." Agate replied in shock, jumping out of the doorway and letting the guest have her way in at last.

Agate's home was anything like what one would have guessed from the outside. Vast majority of the usual Canterlotian glamour have been stripped, even the default marble tiles have been replaced by a wooden parquet. The layout was also very similar to that of Fluttershy's little cottage, with a plain and simple red rug in the middle of the room, and furniture all around it. Not the beautiful, painted, carved and adorned ones, but simple wooden shelves, drawers and a square table in front of the red, old sofa. One'd have compared it to more of a room in a Manehattean apartment, than something from Canterlot.

"My, what a cozy place you're living in." Rarity noted. She had nothing against the Manehattanite look, of course, it was just not what she really expected. All in all, the house had it's own little charm. Especially that black piano in the corner. It's well-worn wood was riddled with white spots, especially on the top, where a couple plants and papers, and whatnot were laying around. Quite clearly it was used as just another shelf.

"Come, come, that's my favorite place." she replied, opening the door of her workroom just next to said instrument. Still, Rarity could hardly take her eyes off it on the way there. A piano like that, in the property of someone like Agate? Not very fitting, but the possibility was there, this was Canterlot after all. Agate's workroom was just like a seamstress', except that the fabric sheets were replaced with cold steel sheets and instead of thread, nails, ribbons or scissors, a small circular saw, molds and pencils lied on the desks. Right of the desk stood a higher, drawing desk. Rarity also had one, that's the point when an artist gives a shape to her ideas on paper. Just like Rarity, Agate also left her designs on the desk, making Rarity take a closer look while Agate dug into a nearby wardrobe.

The design was pretty neat, it was an armor yet still, on the paper it looked so fabulous and unique. The armor was thick steel dyed in similar blue as the royal guards have, covering the whole chest, leaving the legs uncovered, but being attached to a white fabric on the back, to make the wearing more comfortable. From the left front leg, a huge sleeve was hanging, made of white fabric, with steel armor pieces bordering it, inside it, small steel plates linked together giving the protection. Going backwards, the white fabric took over the body as a dress, with blue streaks decorating it as flowers of the same color grew from them, with lighter linked steel plates covering her back, all the way to the tail. From that point, the white textile was the only protection.  
In the lover left corner, the text "Guardian's bride" was seen on the paper.

"Wow, Agate, darling, this design is magnificent." she complimented, as her eyes just kept wondering all around the reference sheet.

"Which one? The Guardian's bride? Thank you, it was my most successful one. Oh, wait a moment." she said, quickly digging herself deeper inside a shelf, where she kept her magazines. A few moments later, she showed it to her friends.

It was a not-so-old "Diva Daily", with Fleur on the cover in the Guardian's Bride, posing as a beautiful bride. It looked wonderful on her, different, yet still wonderful.

"Beautiful!" said Rarity. It fit her so much, yet it was just so alien to her. What gives, in the end, Agate somehow actually managed to get a bit of a respect out of her.

"She really is." Agate said, as she became moved in all of a sudden, her eyes becoming rather dreamy "She's the only one who understands me."

"Is that so?" Rarity replied in an attempt to carry on the topic. With this luck, she might not even need to do anything, just let the mystery unfold all by itself.

"I just... You know, I hate Canterlot. I hate these picky, snobby pricks living here, getting everything on a silver plate and complaining because of the smallest stupid things. But Fleur... she's different. I mean she's as much of a poser as the others, heck, she's the biggest poser I've ever seen, yet still... her heart is bigger than her head."

That explained a lot, yet Rarity felt she does need to know more "I see. Let me get this straight, Fleur visited you to have an order for an armor for her."

Agate nodded.

"You made it, and it was so wonderful Fleur got onto the cover with it."

Agate nodded.

"And ever since you became good friends."

Agate nodded and added the following "Her success was so great suddenly everypony wanted armors, my business skyrocketed. I couldn't thank her enough."

"But..." asked Rarity with a raised eyebrow, as she felt the armorsmith is not done yet.

"But later, ponies were sending back them, and kept complaining that it's too heavy and stuff. They all asked for a refund, I gave them nothing." she said with a mad huff, turning her head away with a swift move as a sign of frustration.

This explained her good relationship with Fleur. Still there was more to uncover here. Rarity remained mostly silent, just a small 'mm-hm' was all that left her throat, signing the smith to go on. She wanted to get out as much of the mare as she possibly could.

"One day though, Fleur also came back. I though she's also going to throw her armor at me, but instead, she came to say sorry. She blamed herself for causing all this mess, regardless of Fancy blaming me for even coming up with the idea. Words spread quickly from that point on."

"This explains the hostile reaction towards you." said Rarity, as she put the pieces together "However, if you have such a bad reputation, how could you enter this contest?"

"Fleur... I have no idea how she did it, but she convinced the judges, so I can get the last space." Agate answered, then ran up to Rarity and grabbed her right leg with both her hooves.

"You've got to help me, Rarity." she said, almost shouted even "This competition may be my one and only chance to get out of this hell." the armorsmith begged.

"What?" Rarity yelled back from the sheer shock.

"You're from Ponyville, right? We could work there on the dress together, in peace."

"Where would you be even staying?!" Rarity responded, trying to back off from the hold of the other unicorn.

"We could stay at your place. I would help out with the chores as well, I'm good lots of, uh, stuff." Agate begged on "Please..."

Her eyes were empty of any lies, and was filled with hope and misery instead, something the Element of Generosity could not ignore. Agate's story touched the seamstress' soul as cold ice the back, despite partially being her own fault. Winning all those bits and making some more reputation were beneficial for her as well, so it was obvious to help, even though she knew it's going to be a lot more difficult than expected.

"I'll take it into consideration, okay?" she answered. She was not going to make any thoughtless decisions, and she needed lots of thinking with this one. True, her heart wanted to help the poor thing, but her mind warned her about not falling into the pit Agate dug for herself.

"Thank you, Rarity." the smith said, finally letting go of the tailor's hoof.

"We'll figure out something tomorrow if you will, I think we both have certain places to attend to." she replied, looking at the clock on the shelf just next to her.

"Oh yeah!" Agate laughed "I totally forgot. Thanks again."

"You're welcome." Rarity replied, leading the way out while Agate saw her off.

"Tomorrow, then."

"Have a good time, darling."

Agate swiftly locked the door behind her as the two parted ways in polar opposite directions. Rarity had mixed feelings about the encounter. On one hoof, she was satisfied she got all these figured out so fast. On the other, she was afraid what chaos Agate might do should she bring her to her home. She was not the kind of mare Rarity had in mind for a teammate one bit, and not only because she was working with steel. She was a mare of no pretention, her mane an utter mess, her teeth could have used some whitening, and on top of that she appeared forgetful, disorganized, if not outright clumsy. Yet while it felt very much like she was more trouble than her worth, Rarity did not have the heart to leave her alone like this.

Exiting the sidestreet, the orange paint of the settling sun enveloped her. A painful sigh left her throat as she watched the gorgeous gradient on the sky. She already made up her mind, but every square inch of it was asking about the consequences of it. This contest is going to be a lot harder than she imagined. She looked back at the sidestreet she just left from, squinting her eyes to protect it from the gigantic red orb descending next to it.

How ironic, a drink or two could have actually came in handy.


	3. Manners are what matters

Just the way the Sun rose up from it's slumber - woken up by Princess Celestia - did Rarity wake up as a gentle yawn left her mouth. She stretched herself and took off her sleeping shades with her magic.

"Good morning Canterlot." she said as she opened her sapphire eyes. They looked sort of confused for a moment as they weren't used to such environtment. The mare didn't mind, though, in fact she thought she could get used to this in no time. Luxurious room in a luxurious hotel, worth every bit. She walked up to the balcony, something that she could not found at home and took a huge breath from the gentle scents in the air.

"What a beautiful day, the sun is shining, the birds are singing~" she blabbered as she went to the bathroom to wash her face. She only lett the water stop her monolouge, for a few seconds, before she left the bathroom with her brush "...and this suite is gorgeous. It's just the cherry on the top."

"Rarity?" a voice asked from behind. "Who're you talking to?"

"Oh, good morning Sweetie." Rarity replied, brushing her mane into its signature curly shape "I was just praising this marvelous place, just look at it-"

"Yeah, we went through this yesterday." cut in the filly with a moaning tone. Seems like she didn't want to wake from her slumber. "I'm going back to sleep." she turned around, taking her steps towards her room one by one.

"Sure, I'm taking a stroll outside meanwhile. I'll be back in a few minutes." the ivory unicorn sang before putting down her brush and leaving her suite.

 

~~~

 

Even at this time in the morning the streets of Canterlot weren't silent from the ponies. Though it wasn't all that full either, just a few residents walking up and down the streets.

_'Ah, now this is life. Now I just hope I won't bump into-'_

" **RARES!!** " A squeal broke her train of thoughts as the seamstress' worst nightmare ran up from behind on the other side of the street. Annoyed eyes of angered royalty helped her aim her eyes towards an olive-coated unicorn. No doubt, it was Agate. Her mane was obviously set with hooves instead of a propel tool and she had small wrinkles under her eyes.

"He-hey gal, what's up? Hope you slept well in that fancy hotel of yours." she said, with a gentle smile towards her new friend. Her speech was interruppted by the strange smell of cider and mint pouring out from her mouth. Agate was most likely hanging out with the Royal Guards yesterday night... again. She began to lower her already next-to-nothing reputation towards Rarity. The seamstress couldn't stand her, and she wanted to get her plan going as soon as possible. And by that she meant right here and now.

Regardless... even though they met about a day ago, Agate seemed to be outgoing towards somepony who has an above average class, which was rare. Of course, she also knew this is not the case to hate on the upper crust, as they were teammates for a while and hatred in a team has no benefits.

Once the crowd returned to mind their own business the two mares started to take a stroll around the town.

"Seriously though, how was that hotel? Were there any cool stuff like water beds or something?" the armorsmith asked, now in a more regular tone.

"It's such a lovely place, filled with all high class equipment from the entrance till the bathroom. Though, a waterbed would have been a bit of an overkill don't you think?" she asked, raising one of her eyebrows as they walked down the street.

Rarity and Agate were like day and night, yin and yang, and they both were aware of that. They were also aware that opposites attract, which would only result in a clash. And they were already pulling towards each other.

"But tell me, what is the reason for this random shout over the streets?" Rarity asked, her eyes piercing through the armorsmith's.

Agate let out a silly giggle before answering. "Well, from what I saw you enjoyed yourself. Didn't want to just trot up and then scare the, uh, soul out of you." she told with a quite notable stop. Agate may not be as sophisticated as other Canterlotian ladies, but she had her own manners and rules such as "Only swear if the other partner does".

"Hmphf, I was perfectly fine until the screeching sound of your voice echoed in my ears all of the sudden. That might just scared me even more then you just coming up to me." Rarity replied to Agate after the deep exhale, in the form of a huff, was done. But it did took her by surprise that the sudden silence had fallen. A thing she took as a sign of relief. Trying to hide something for the ivory unicorn was not as simple as it looked, though.

Agate yawned, not covering her mouth with any hoof before continuing of course "Maaare you should have been out with me last night. We had a party noone could remake, ever!" she shouted in the air. "Night Sparrow locked himself into the fillies' room, again. And imagine-" the armorsmith turned back to her friend, but as soon as she gazed into the steamstress' eyes she cut the annoying rambling. They were so close the air started to boil around them. The impact was inevitable at this point now.

"I was laying asleep in my bed at that hour after a long day. I never have been one for those wild parties and I made it clear to you, yesterday. But obviously, you were too far gone to save it in that brain of yours." The words spoken, could be harmful and Rarity knew that all too well. If she forces Agate out from her comfort zone it might be easier for her to gain some 'territory'. It was all part of her plan.

Agate took a sharp look at her face, then headed down to her chest, front legs and hooves, and with an arc her sight ended up on the ground in front of her. She checked her breath using her hooves. She brushed her teeth after waking up, but she didn't spend too much effort on it, same with her mane. Despite that, she felt nothing special, thus she turned to her friend, with a less energetic way of speech "Do I still smell like a zonker?".

"Oh you have no idea how bad you smell. I think you didn't even got any sleep last night." Rarity huffed once again. The action may had it's risk, but were extremely rewarding for both of them if it worked. From the signs, it did.

"Well, yeah, I didn't." replied Agate scrathing her hooves against her head. She knew she stepped over the line, though she didn't know where that line exactly was. Her standards were lower than Rarity's, no question about that. But the last thing she wanted is a hateful teammate. Determined to improve her relationship she decided to take action against the smell first place.

 _'This gotta do it.'_ she thought as she took out a bubblegum and started to chew on it. The gum had a nice, but strong minty taste. Strong enough that it was a bit of piercing the armorsmith's tounge.

"So if you're not partying and stuff in your free time, then what are you usually doing?" she asked with a curious gaze, hoping she can find a way to get a little bit more into the heart of the ivory one. Rarity was watching the skies as small white puffs started to gather up on them. She didn't fly away from reality though, and turned back almost in a second after the question.

"Well a party of high class from time to time can't harm, but in general, I just withdraw myself. Sit somewhere one a nice terrace and just enjoy the view to be seen. Sit still and let the world run by, watching the others hurry to whatever it is they were having to go it. And just, think. Philosophize about life itself. Heavy subject I know and, a little unexpected from a mare like me." she explained, not interesting Agate all that much. Moreover, the olive one rather gave her a strange look, as she couldn't decide if that was a joke or her friend really was serious? For her, standing and thinking was rather... incomprehensible. What good is in that?

But Rarity added one more thing "Oh, and there is reading. The scent of paper, the marvelous idioms, the emotions compressed in those words. Nothing is better than a good book to entertain you." she explained.

"I see, reading is pretty cool. I sometimes read a book before going to sleep, so I dream some nice stuff." she replied, which got her thinking. "Isn't there some library in Ponyville, by the way? If I'd have seen one before, like, some big tree or something?".

And there we go again, she got herself daydreaming about Ponyville. She has only been there once, but that was enough to her to set her goal. It was just the place to be: quiet streets, average, everyday ponies, pretty cheap shops, everything she was looking for was found there. The only thing she needed to move there was money. That money she and Rarity would get by winning the competition. The quote "One lives one's death, one dies one's life" seemed to be so true at that moment.

The daydreaming didn't go unnoticed, however. "May I ask what is so attracting to you in Ponyville this much?" asked Rarity. Agate was too busy daydreaming to realize she have been asked a question... for a moment at least. Though when she came to realization a wave of confusion washed over her.

"Huh? Ponyville? No, well, yes. Um, what's attractive? Well, uh..." she blabbered, descending back to real life before continuing. "Ponyville is so relaxed, calm, silent, you know... all these stuff."

Rarity giggled behind her wrist from the response "Well, it certainly has it's charm." she agreed.

"Not to mention the pony folks. They're all, um, you know, natural and not anywhere picky as these fancy fellas here." Agate replied, taking a look at a couple with two decorated hats on their head, their head looking straight up in the air from sheer pride. Her volume turning down bit by bit just showed her clear lack of impression towards the higher class.

No matter how the ivory coated unicorn looked at it, Agate had a major point made to her. One that was almost impossible to counter with any of hers. "I don't say it often, but you are right on that. Photo Finish and Hoity Toity are among the worst if you ask me." Her own reply was also lowered to make sure none of the ponies around them could hear them.

Agate, hearing the seamstress' reply raised her head in surprise. She didn't at all except such an answer, moreover she rather excepted the opposite. Though, it felt good to her to hear that, really good. She felt so warm inside in all of a sudden, knowing that her friend might be not one of those. It filled her with relief and hope.

"That's awesome." she said "I thought you're like these Canterlot ponies at first, but I see you're different." she explained.

Looking through the street, though, she realized she forgot where she was heading before, though she could mind it less. She rather joined Rarity on her journey instead.

"So where we are heading?" she asked in the most straightforward way possible, her face brightening up once again. Afraid of another hurtful impact, though, she slammed another sentence afterwards, turning her head away a little "If you don't mind me next to you or something, you know.".

"Hm? What?" she replied to the question before thinking a bit. "We weren't heading to anything in particular. Just setting a step at a time and see where the legs carry us." she told Agate. Though the plans for the morning may have changed a little, it was a great opportunity to improve their relationship a little. Either that, or a small self-controlling exercise. But why did she had that odd feeling she forgot something?

 

~~~

 

Few seconds of walking later something caught the attention of the armorsmith.

"Hey, how 'bout a light breakfast?" she recommended, pointing towards the logo of a small tea-house on the other side of the street. Though, her tip of her hoof suddenly changed direction as it ended up in front of her mouth as she yawned. Small pillows were lying on the ground in front of the tables, waiting for the guests. There were plenty of places inside as well. Agate knew that place well. It wasn't her favourite because of it's medicore price, but it was affordable and the pillows are the most comfortable there.

"Hm?" Rarity said before she followed the hoof Agate towards the logo. The place looked gorgeous, but it was alien to her, not to mention eating at this time in the morning was not her cup of tea. _'But a cup of tea can't harm, right?'_ she thought to herself before looking at Agate. The wrinkles on her face definetly grew bigger than few minutes ago. Something to eat would most likely come in handy to the armorsmith considering she was partying all night.

"Yes, I guess we can have ourselves a breakfast."

The teahouse had a cosy, warm feeling to it with it red carpet and pastel yellow walls. Chandeliers were hanging from the ceiling, emitting beautiful, gentle light when ordered. There was no need for that now as the red, silky curtains were attached to the sides of the windows, letting in the sunshine from outside. Pictures of various artists decorated the walls around the square shaped small tables, with the red pillows around them.

The two mares - lead by Agate took a seat next to the window. A waitress with a light grey coat and a blonde mane, that she wore in a bun walked up asking in a deep, gentle tone "Good morning madams! How may I help you?"

"Hello, I'd like to have aaaaa... Daisy and Rose sandwitch please, and some green tea." she replied turning to Rarity for a moment, until something caught her eye from the street, defocusing her from paying attention to her surroundings. It was her best Canterlotian friend: Fleur-dis-Lee.

The fashion model was walking down the street with Fancy Pants, as per usual. Agate started to wave her left hoof at the direction of her like some excited kid (or Pinkie Pie). Fleur took notice of her, of course, greeting her with a much gentler wave and a sweet smile. She forgot about Fancy for a moment but soon she realized it, the model rushed after her husband. Now that she was gone, Agate got back to spend time with her other, new friend.

"How about you miss?" the waiter asked Rarity... no answer.

"Yo' Rares, you drink nothing?" joined her Agate, with a strange expression.

Rarity was too much fascinated by the wonderful place, it was just divine. Took her a bit of a time to fall back into reality. "Hm, oh, sorry. For me just a strawberry flavored tea please.". The waitress nodded and left without a sound and as soon as she disappeared, Rarity jumped to the topic.

"About Fleur..."

Agate waited with patience this time before replying "Yes?"

"I still can't grasp properly how you know Fleur so well, while you're so hostile towards everypony else. Actually, I thought since I know Fancy Pants well enough we might as well work together." Rarity suggested. Bad idea. Hearing those last words Agate's eyes filled with bitter coldness. Her wrinkles were growing massive, her irises like freezing rays pointing at the ivory seamstress, just for a few moments only, shutting her eyes and looking away afterwards.

"You know, I have a rule: My enemies' friends are usually my enemies too, but you're an exception." she explained, turning back once again with a sweet smile in the second part.

Rarity - despite the harsh words - remained friendly. She started to build a relationship-tree inside her head. She knew Agate's relation with Fancy was anything but good, but she didn't at all except this word from the armorsmith's mouth. But this raised a question she was yet to ask. Instead she decided to call a differend card from her deck as the waiter returned with their breakfasts.

"You know, there is an old saying: Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer." she told her friend, making the armorsmith even more furious inside, and that was clearly reflected on the outside as well.

"Rarity... don't ever try to push me any closer to the canterlotians. I hate them." she said in a demanding tone, with extra force on the 'ever'. Even though the words hurt much the seamstress as she had many friends from Canterlot, Rarity still remained calm and learned her lesson.

The seamstress however didn't stop here, she still had one thing to ask after sipping into her tea. "You know I am wondering just why I am an exception to that rule."

Agate giggled at Rarity's question... well, loud wondering. "It is easy, since you're different. You don't have that Canterlotian blood he does. You can throw away your manners and get your hooves dirty when needed. You're just like Fleur, an exception that proves the rule." she explained.

The armorsmith leaned towards the mare inch by inch, opening her mouth "I have a secret... I was there too at the Gala last year~ "

A small flashback appeared in her magenta eyes. She was walking in the hall of the ballroom filled with classier and classier ponies, chatting with each other. She wore but simple, puffy white dress.

"I was hiding a bottle of enchanted grafitti spray, strapped to my hind leg, hidden under the dress. Ain't nopony can scratch that stuff down once it's on. I planned on taking a revenge on Canterlot for all it have done to me."

"Do I... want to know in which positions those cans were?" Rarity spoke aloud with a disturbed look, cutting the film for a moment. Wait, didn't Agate said yesterday she turned down all of her gala invites? Agate didn't reply, though, just continued.

"So... I was strolling in the main hall when..." Then, from out of nowhere, screams broke the noisy mumbles of everypony. _"The only thing royal about you that is you're a ROYAL PAIN!"_

"It was you, Rares." Agate explained "Screaming at that spoiled, idiotic kid, Bluebood."

Rarity soaked the prince with cake, making him trip back, knocking over a statue, that a pegasus caught a second later.

"Then all hell broke loose." she became immobile, not being able to keep her balance under the sheer weight of the stone. It did not take her but a couple moments before knocking off several other pillars. On the top of that, from behind the back door, a horde of animals broke in, causing the possible biggest chaos one could see.

Agate shut her eyes, ending the imaginary playback in her mind "I'm not sure how, or why, but that day I felt Princess Fortuna was on my side." she finished, sipping up her remaining tea.

"Oh trust me, it wasn't miss Fortuna. The ponies I call my true friends caused the mess to happen. Well, mess, depends on ones point of view." she replied after watching the memory before the eyes.

"Oh yeah, the girls you ran off with first place." she recalled. "I thought they're just random ponies who had their mind-presence enough to find the exit, or were actually hearing the guards." she explained, standing up from the pillow. Only then did she realise that her limbs are weak. She was tired, exhausted, even if her brain told her otherwise, her body was begging for a rest.

"This reminds me~" she added to her conversation with Rarity "I have a wardrobe full of armors at home, maybe we should try to get one on you.

"Thank you, miss madam." she thanked to the waitress, who took her glass and plate off the table. Rarity gave her a small nod, as well as leaving a few bits on the table as tips. A little thing she loved to do.

"Well it always worth a look I guess." Rarity shrugged as they headed outside.

"So... right now or the aftern- noooooonnn." Agate asked, that last bit into a huge yawn having Rarity gape into her mouth yet again.

"Let's just say this afternoon, you really need to take a rest, darling. It is not at all healthy to stay up for this long." the ivory unicorn told the mustard one, with her voice being filled with some worry, something the olive one very much appreciated.

"Yeah, now that you say... I feel I could black out anywhere. See you later, then, I guess." Agate replied waving towards her before taking her way home one step after another.

"We shall see one another. Just tell my name at the reception and they'll call up to my room." Rarity explained as a last sentence. Agate turned back and gave a small nod as sign that she understood, then proceeded towards her house. The way she walked was rather strange though, slow and inballanced, as she would be a bit tipsy. Rarity couldn't help but chuckle. It was rather comical, but being a lady she didn't stare, rather focused on that strange feeling that mugged her since a while now.

A few moments later she let out an enormous gasp before shouting "Sweetie Belle!". She turned around to run to see her sister, only to smash into a black tuxedo, making her land on the ground.

"Well, that's not the most comfortable habit of meeting up, is it?" a gentle male voice said. One so distinct she could not confuse with anypony else's.

"F-Fancy Pants?" she mumbled. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I-I didn't see you there, I just-"

"Don't bother yourself, miss Rarity. As I said before, you're most definetly a pony worth bumping into." he joked, taking the incident like nothing. However the other pony with the strage movements caught her attention somewhat more. Enough for Rarity to look back.

"Pretty ludicrous a sight isn't it?" he said, still looking towards the olive coated unicorn in a distance.

"Yyyes, quite." Rarity replied, with a sort of awkward tone before turning around and running away. "I need to hurry to my sister, again, my apologies."

Fleur however kept her sight on her, like a living gargoyle on the side of an old church, only her eyes following the ivory equine.


	4. Adieu Canterlot

The afternoon arrived soon, and a meeting was in process. Rarity - regardless how much it irritated her - needed to visit Agate once again before they could begin their journey home, to Ponyville.

Much to her surprise however, Agate was a bit of different this time. Much... better, to say so. Her mouth wasn't smelling anymore, and her set mane shown visible strokes made by hairbrush.

"Hey-ho, Rares, Sweetie! How was your day?" she asked, letting the fellows in.

"Pretty good, actually." the ivory coated replied. It filled her heart with pleasure, and most importantly, hope, that she saw her partner actually doing something with herself. She thought it was time to change tactics, but she revised once again what she learned of her so far. Agate seemed to be submissive to her in certain circumstances. Despite her rough nature, she is actually pretty fragile, making Rarity try to go somewhat easier on her this time and see what happens.

"This way, I found the perfect stuff for you Rares, I have it all set up." the mustard coated told her in excitement, as she lead the other two into her bedroom. It didn't at all look like a Canterlotian bedroom though, in fact, it rather had a sort of Manehatten feeling to it. The floor was made of wood instead of the default, checkered marble. The ribbons and the silk was all stripped from the walls, much like the curtains and the bed. It was a casual, single bed without any sort of decoration, whatsoever. Same applied to the shelves, desks and wardrobes, simple, and wooden. Even by ponyvillian standards, this room was rather undecorated.

In the middle however stood a mannequin in a wonderful golden armor with a purple, diamond patterned textile under it. It looked amazing, yet a bit of strange and unknown for the seamstress.

"Neat, huh? I made this from a faulty armor that got rejected. Thought I could make something out of it." the armorsmith explained. Rarity stepped closer, taking a look at every of its details.

"Certainly... interesting, to say at least." Rarity told, scratching her chin. The armor was amazing, no doubt, even for a faulty one. It's shape was wonderful and smooth, the curls in the gold were elegant and graceful. But that thing under it... it just looked like if somepony would have took up a picnic rug on her back, then put the armor on. It had potential, but not in this state.

"It fits your mane and even your cutie mark, try it on, I can't wait to see it." the hyped up Agate squealed.

There was no other way, Rarity had to pick it up and feel it herself. She took off the piece from the doll and slipped her head through the hole, putting it on. The weigh made her succumb for a second, as her body was not used to this sort of fashion, but she straightened up again a few seconds later. Agate already prepared her big, rectangular mirror on the side of the room, so Rarity could take a look at herself.

The sight was... strange, to say at least. The textile was long enough the reach down to the ground a little bit, fading every part of the unicorn away.

"Rarity, the mage. So, how is it?" Agate asked, waiting for the response like a kid by an ice cream carriage.

"It's... nice?" Rarity responded with a fake smile, that turned serious a moment afterwards. "Okay, I'll just be honest: The armor part is brilliant, really, but this... curtain, is just terrible. I hope you don't mind." she told her friend, with an apologetic ending. The whole thing reminded her of the incident when she let her friends design their Gala clothes, namely Twilight's gigantic robe, only with some extra weight on this one.

"It's okay..." Agate replied with an awkward grin "It was just a work in progress anyway."

"Was?" asked Sweetie Belle out of the blue. The seamstress also caught with her ears. It sounded as if Agate just want to abandon the entire design because of Rarity's criticism.

"Is! I mean is." the armorsmith corrected herself... but it seemed a bit too late for that. Rarity knew, Agate is a sensitive soul inside, and should be dealt with appropriately.

Rarity strolled towards her, putting her right hoof on Agate's back to reassure her "Aggy, you can stay with us at home in Ponyville for the contest if you'd like to."

"R-really?" Agate shouted up, shutting her mouth with her hoof the next moment.

Rarity shut her eyes and nodded. Agate was on the verge on tearing up, her pupils grew huge and she stared giving off muffled noises of excitement and joy. It was just heartwarming to watch to the seamstress.

"I knew it! Thank you so much!" she jumped, embracing her new friend thigh as she could, which was not much since the armor protected her.

"When will the next train come?"

"About half an hour, I think." Agate replied.

"Half an hour?!" Rarity screamed, as she tried to take off Agate's work with the help of her unicorn magic "Okay, umm, we haven't really packed up yet, so-"

"It's alright, go ahead. I've already-." Agate cut in, shutting her eyes with a little grin, just to get them both opened by the sudden move of the seamstress.

With some problems Rarity could get out of the armor and put it aside on the bed. It was the time. Rarity decided that she has to reveal her plan she made for Agate, now or never. The odds were on her side, she was the puppeteer, and Agate was the doll. However, inside she hoped she didn't need to reveal this to the armorsmith. She grabbed both shoulders of the armorsmith and leaned up real close, close enough to see her own reflection in her eyes.

"However, before we set off to Ponyville, I need you to promise me something."

Agate freaked out a little bit over the sudden move, but remained standstill when she responded "Y-yes?"

"I need you to become a lady."

"WHAT?!?" screamed the armorsmith, as she forced off Rarity's hooves from herself aggressively "No way!".

A hot-headed and expectable response, but Rarity didn't want to play her joker card yet, rather just try again.

"Please, Agate. This is the only way we can win this contest, and you know that as well." she explained, remaining soft and calm like the lady she was.

Agate was showing her teeth, the sheer anger and total disgust was clearly seen on her face. Yet the inconvenient truth started to gain territory on it, unnerving her completely. She had no choice, after all, Rarity could just let her rot here with ease. She hated the thought of Rarity having such an upper hoof, but a sacrifice is a sacrifice. With a final sigh, she mumbled back her response: "Okay..."

"Excuse me?"

"Okay!"

"Great, now that being decided, I think we'll just leave." Rarity told her, trying to get out from there as soon as possible.

"Sure... see ya." Agate responded, completely dissatisfied and grumpy. She didn't want to, not a single part of her braincells wanted to... but she had to.

"See you later, come Sweetie." the seamstress told her sister, hurrying out from the building, back to her hotel. But then, in the first turn that was leading out from the alley to the main road...

 

~~~

 

Fleur! As if she would have been waiting for Rarity. There was no way to get around her, though the seamstress didn't mean to do so.

"Mrs. Fleur." she greeted her, her voice filled with nervousness as she was in a great hurry. Fleur looked serious, a face that the ivory unicorn haven't seen before. She looked like a completely different person with that expression, just putting oil on the seamstress' fiery nerves.

"Rarity." she told her in a deep tone "Take care of Agate for me, please."

"Sure thing, I'll make sure-"

"No! Take actual care of her!" Fleur ordered "It's a feeling she haven't received but from me and maybe the guards alone. If she leaves Canterlot and can't receive it from anypony..." she explained, letting the other mare figure out the rest as she moved out from the way to let go of her.

"I see." Rarity replied, shocked and frozen in her place for a split-second "I will, Celestia be my witness." she promised, then rushed past the diva.

It was all clear now, Agate found nopony to trust and believe in but Fleur, nopony who could understand her but Fleur. And to make up for this empty space, she drinks with the only ponies she can with and she made friends herself. That's why she was calling her tools by names. She might not need the friendship of others, but deep inside, Agate was a lonely, lonely mare. As Rarity deduced this in her mind, a new emotion surfaced up towards the armorsmith inside her. An emotion she couldn't get out of her heart until they saw each other once again: Pity.

 

~~~

 

The three mares hiked up to the train, Rarity leading the way to an empty cabin with green and beige interior. Agate and Rarity took place in the comfortable seats, facing towards each other. Their eyes met for a second, then parted ways, then they met again, but disconnected. At the end both of them choose to stare out the window, observing a couple waving joyfully to someone in a different cabin. Sweetie didn't care much, she decided to just observe the happenings.

The whistle screamed in its high pitch, and a second later, the train began its journey towards Ponyville. Silence. Neither of them started a conversation for long, long seconds, even though their eyes were flirting like two young lovers. Not until from the mountain scenery, a little village was seen down in the valley. Agate's ultimate goal... a goal that needed a gigantic sacrifice.

"A lady, huh?" Agate asked "Why would you want me to be one of them?" she continued, trying to squeeze some answers from Rarity.

The ivory one faded into complete silence for seconds, before she made her reply.

 

  
  
  
  
  


 

 

"Because I'm scared."

Another long period of quiet later Agate asked once again, though rather in a form of an echo "Scared..."

"Yes... scared. I'm scared that your hatred towards Canterlot along with your informal manners might cost both of us too much." Rarity told her, avoiding eye-contact with the other unicorn.

After long silence and gazing outside the window, Agate decided to ask one final question: "Will you help me?"

For a brief second, Rarity's pulse stopped. The way Agate just asked that, the way those words left her mouth, that determination, that passion... yet that fear in her voice. It reminded her a teddy-carrying filly afraid of heights, who tried to cross a bridge on the top of Equestria... but couldn't face it alone.

"With everything I can." Rarity nodded with a sweet smile, however her eyes told that she wasn't finished with that sentence. _'...I just hope it's going to be enough.'_

A little bit of more silence, as the two smiling ponies gazed over the little village once again. Now that the serious business was over, the general mood around them became much less tense, and more happy. It was time to relax and enjoy the ride from that point, everything was back on the right track from now.

 

~~~

 

"Anything particular I should know about Ponyville's folks?" she asked in curiosity.

A soft chuckle left Rarity at the question, as something in topic struck her mind like lightning "They're pretty paranoid."

"Paranoid?" Agate asked raising one of her eyebrows in curiosity.

"Oh, I was actually just thinking about it somehow, that was that one incident with Zecora, a zebra inhabitant, they considered her evil and spread rumors that were obviously unknown until the entire town began fearing her. The oil on the fire was though that she- Ah!" she gasped, as everything turned pitch black in the middle of her sentence.

"Nah, it's just the cave. So she was what? A demon or something?" Agate calmed her fellow, her ears pricked up as she wanted to hear more.

"So, as I said what made it worse that she was living in the Everfree Forest, would you kindly stop tapping my back?" she asked in her annoyance.

"It was not me, the ghosts of the cave are calling you." the armorsmith replied, only to have her cover blown by the light of the sun, as the machine left the cavern, revealing her hoof on Rarity's shoulder.

"Agate, please..." Rarity told her in a gentle manner, as she took Agate's right hoof and slowly took it off herself. She felt as if it was her turn now, and took her opportunity "So, tell me where are these disagreements with Fancy Pants come from?".

"It's pretty simple, let me tell you." the mustard coated leaned closer "Fancy is someone with too much power and too little brains, it's impossible to fulfill his endless hunger for fancy stuff, even though he doesn't realize it. Out of all canterlotians I've met, he's the worst. Let's not even talk about him, I'm glad I got rid of him for now." Agate waved her hoof to avoid the topic she hated so much. It was time for Ponyville now, time to relax and forget all the stress she gathered up, and Rarity could understand that well enough.

It seemed as the two could get along well, but their relationship was dancing on the edge of a blade. One bad decision, and who knows what might happen.

Another series of seconds passed in complete silence, even longer than the ones before. Agate set a yawn free moaning "Gah, that's so boring! I wish I'd have brought a game or something.". Her body extended along the beige seat as she laid down in boredom.

Rarity just sat there, even though the boredom reached her as well, she didn't allow it to take control, she was a lady after all. However something odd caught her attention from the side.

"Sweetie Belle!" she screamed, as her heart jumped in fright. Her sister disappeared. How could this happen (again)?

"Guess she just went to the toilet or something, chill out." Agate replied maybe a bit too calmly even.

"You've seen her and didn't even think of telling me?!" Rarity screamed, jumping off the seat and running towards the cabin next to theirs. She wasn't there... The stress gave the seamstress shivers as she ran to the next cabin, seeing a door being closed on the other side by a white hoof. There was light in the end of the tunnel, after all.

"Sweetie! Sweetie Belle!!" she shouted, rushing to the door and slamming it open with a burst of her magic. The hoof closing the entrance of the next wagon was there again, but it couldn't escape this time, for sure.

"Not so fast missy!" Rarity screamed, grabbing the limb as the door opened. However, the next moment was an utter shock to her, for the hoof's host was not her sister. In fact, it wasn't a filly even, but a mare with a blue mane she wore in a bob cut.

"C-can I help you?" she asked in fright. Rarity let go of her leg in an instant, as her face filled up with the red color of embarrassment.

"Excuse me, I'm terribly sorry, I was just looking for my sister and I didn't really think ahead." she apologized, melding her sentence into a question. "Please, have you seen her, she's short, white coat and curly, light purple mane."

The stranger shook her head, for Rarity's shame. All hope seemed to be lost, but she still gazed over the mare to see if the rest of the cabin hides her, with no success. The mare put her hoof on the shoulders of the seamstress.

"I'll make sure to tell you if I notice her."

"Coco!" A voice shouted up from a seat behind. The mare, imbued with fear turned back and ran to the nearest little box separated from the narrow corridor. "What are you doing? I told you not to chit-chat with strangers, 'mkay?"

Rarity didn't pay attention anymore, her angst turned into sadness that began burning her heart like acid. She felt she is the most horrible, irresponsible sister in Equestria. She turned back and began walking back to their carriage, step by step. Her eyes were staring at carpet that moved backwards as she traveled, until a white obstacle made her stop for a second.

"Something's wrong sis?" it said, knocking Rarity back to reality.

"Sweetie!" she shouted.

"You ran off the wrong way, Rares. I found her looking at the map-thing in the other cabin." Agate explained, turning to the filly "Should have told her, though, ponyvillians tend to overreact certain things." she chuckled. This little poking, however, flew past Rarity as she was glad to be reunited with her sister, who they shared a warm hug with before heading back.

"Don't you dare doing this again!" She told the girl the way back, as Agate lead the way. That, until in a sudden moment, she stopped by a window, whereas the others were to sit back on their places.

The grassy scenery that passed by so fast began slowing down.

"Wait, we're stopping?" she asked. The train was slowing down, indeed, even though no signs of a town nearby was seen. Something was wrong for sure, and Rarity could just guess what could have caused this. However, she could do nothing about it, just watch it happening. It took just a couple seconds, and the machine stopped.

Steps were heard from the other wagons, getting louder and louder as it got closer rapidly.

"Shhh! It's Fury Nancy." hushed Agate the other unicorns, as she jumped back to her seat before the door smashed open, hitting the wood on its side. A grey-black mare in a checkered hat and a uniform charged in the room, stomping her way through the cabin. Her face searing hot from the anger, as she passed by the poker-faced Agate and Rarity. For first, the seamstress wanted to ask for a reason for the train's sudden stop, but seeing that face of wrath, not to mention those soul-piercing red eyes, she passed it. As Fury smashed the door behind her, Agate finally could let that huge grin grow on her face, as she wagged her eyebrows up and down.

"Do you know her, by any chance?" Rarity asked.

"No, but I call her Fury Nancy, because she is always furious." Agate replied with a chuckle. "Come, let's see what's happening." she added, standing up and strolling towards the door the staff member just left through, Rarity and Sweetie Belle following her.

The little room next to their cabin was much smaller, with a door leading outside, as well as another one leading to the other cabin. Agate leaped down the train with a hop, while the other mare simply walked down in her own pace. The other travelers waited outside as well by then, yet the reason was still unknown, until the motorpony called for attention.

"Attention everypony! Attention please! It seems that the engine broke down, which means we have to take the way to the next town by hooves."

Everyone froze solid for a second, before the stallion continued "The closest town is Dodge Junction, it is only half an hour away from here."

"Thirty minutes?" questioned back Rarity as her eye twitched. "Also, Dodge Junction?" she continued. So much walking with all these luggages and in this dirty land was certainly the last thing she wanted to do,not to mention that towards the dusty old town she never fancied.

"Guess he meant thirty minutes by train, or-"

"What?!" screamed Rarity, covering her mouth right after in embarrassment. That much time by train meant forever by hooves, for her at least "Agate, that's bad even for a joke." she replied.

Agate took a look at the sun that was already settling, calculating absolute nonsense in her head. "If we get going now, we can get there before sundown."

Rarity rolled her eyes and with a puffed up tone she gaited past the other unicorn "Then we shouldn't waste our time, should we?" she asked, leading the way along the train to get their luggage. As her horn charged up, she let the inspector open up the lower storage of the machine, where the luggages were held. Since theirs were put in last, it was easy to take them out. Rarity taking her white-blue, well-adorned custom one that had her cutie mark on it, then Agate her three old-looking brown ones. However neither of them chose to carry them by their hooves or mouth, but with their magic. There was no time to waste, and there was no other option, they had to leave the train behind.

"This is so exciting!" said Sweetie, who seemed to be quite happy about this little adventure, unlike Rarity, who couldn't help but respond in a negative way.

"Much more of a burden if you ask me." she moaned with a deep inhale as the unicorns set their way along the railroad.

"You tired? I can carry that for you." Agate responded, seeing her friend stopping to take a little break. Rarity's pretty bag let go of its blue aura as it became surrounded by a purple one. Even though Agate took over her item by force, without asking any confirmation whatsoever, the ivory coated still felt a bit grateful for the gesture.

"Why thank you. Very kind of you." she told her. It was pretty impressive seeing Agate carry four full luggage as they were mere feathers.

"That's quite an exceptional strength of magic you got." Rarity complimented.

"Cool, huh? Since the stuff I work with are heavy I can lift much heavier stuff than others." the mustard colored mare replied, as she wiped a little sweat from her forehead. Her vocabulary - or the lack of thereof - was irking Rarity, but she could stand it... for now.

The grass became more of a rare sight the more they were walking, eventually turning the scenery to a desert.

"Uh, dirt." the ivory coated said with foaming disgust. She hated it, she hated dirt and germs more than anything, except maybe spiders.

"It doesn't bite or anything, I'm sure you'll survive." Agate replied in a low pitch, much of the annoyance of Rarity.

 _'Ooh, now you're asking for it, missy.'_ she whispered in herself. Things began to heat up around them, both mentally and literally, as the savanna became warmer and warmer. However, in a distance the goal was already seen, a small, western-like town.

It looked so close yet it was so far. The sand and the heat seemed to be more and more unbearable as they arrived, making the strolling more of a difficulty.

"Welcome to Dodge Junction!" shouted Agate, rearing up as the road wouldn't even have touched her energy, even though she was sweating very much. The feeling of hard wood of the train station somehow felt so fine after the soft sand. Agate discharged some energy of her horn, to drop off her luggage, but she messed it up. Two brown and a white pack hit the floor hard while another brown stayed inside her grasp.

"Oops..." she said as noticed her mistake. Rarity screamed, making her way to her once beautiful package as a juggernaut. She picked it up wiping the dust off its wonderful, white texture when she noticed it. A scratch! A scratch on the blue plastic diamond in the middle! Disaster! There is no way it can show its true glory again.

"I'm sorry Rares, I kinda mixed them up." Agate apologized, scratching the back of her head.

Rarity let out a subtle sigh as she turned towards her partner "It's okay..." She paused for a second, before lifting her head up. Sacrifices must be made and she had to carry on. "I'll check the schedule then, mind you bring us some water, it should be simple enough... even for you.". Though the words were slightly hurtful, Rarity knew that well enough. An eye for an eye after all. However it seemed to bounce off Agate, who just smirked a little and walked away to fetch some drink. A slight annoyance to the ivory one, she felt as she would have just tried to insult a brick wall.

Rarity's eyes turned to the wooden board with times written up with white paint. Only for a second, though, when a carriage pulled by four stallions drove off from her right, creating an enormous cloud of dust and forcing her eyes to close,plus to cough a little bit. Despite that, the fact the they were heading towards the exact same direction they came from was planting seeds of relief in the mare's heart.

"Yo Rares!" Agate screamed, with three wooden cups of water levitating next to her. "I got these from a pub nearby, gotta bring the cups back though." she added, giving one of them to her friend and the other one to the filly. A smile took over Rarity's face, as she heard the news, and after a small thanks she took a gulp of the water. Her smile turned into a frown, however.

"Uh, it's warm. Well, it'll keep us from dehydration at least." she noted, drinking up the rest. Agate already finished it by then, and was waiting for the other unicorns.

"'xcuse me, anything happened with the train?" a voice said from behind the ivory coated. "There's a lot of strange folk here in a sudden with bags and all that."

"Yeah, it burnt out like a cheap candle." the mustard coated said with a sly smile, as Rarity lowered her cup and gulped.

"Agate!" she whispered furiously, turning around to give a proper reply "Its engine broke down, that's all. I've seen the supply carriage leaving however, it may arrive in few minutes.".

"Oh shucks! Thank you anyway... have we met?" the other pony responded. Her mane was fancy and red as a ruby, while her coat was light olive. A cherry adorned her rump. Of course, she remembered her now, the memories struck the unicorn like lightning.

"Cherry Jubilee, correct? I was working at your cherry farm for a short time." Rarity asked her. While it wasn't the best of the memories she loved to recall, it was indeed hard to forget that time. The time when they chased their farmer friend all around the desert. And then the way home with Pinkie Pie, something she hoped would not need to repeat with Agate.

"Oh yeah, the Apple girl's friend, I got it now!" Jubilee shouted "Came back for some extra bits?" she asked with a seductive hum. Yes, she looked exactly like the kind of woman who'd take an advantage of her own charm... just like Rarity would.

"No thank you, we're on our way home." sounded Rarity's polite decline.

"Fine, dear, then how about some cherry pie? That train might take a long time to get geared up." Jubilee responded with a wink, putting extra emphasis on the "long", but she failed convince the seamstress.

"She is right, actually." Agate noted. Sweetie also seemed to approve the idea. She gazed over to the Sun that only peeked out from behind the dunes for a few seconds, waiting for her response.

"I guess we can afford a little visit then, if it doesn't mean any trouble to you." Rarity replied, though she wasn't too pleased with her decision.

"Oh, why on Earth would it be?" Cherry responded as she rolled her eyes with a little wave of her left hoof.

"Yay! Cherry pie!" screamed Sweetie Belle. Considering she never ate cherry pie before, she thought if Applejack's apple pies were awesome, then Cherry's cherry pies should be so as well.

"How is your cherry business doing, may I ask?" Rarity questioned, as she lead the way along with Ms Jubilee towards their home in the tiny, dusty town.

"Pretty good." she answered "Ponies often turn up here for some quick bits, so I always have fresh workforce." she explained with a joyful melody in her voice. "Here we are fellows, Cherry Ranch." she shouted to the ones behind them.

"Well, this was quick." Agate noted.

"Dodge Junction is a small town, everypony knows everypony here, so we all know an outsider when we see one." the earth pony giggled softly, pushing in the door of her home.

"I'm back sweetie!" she shouted, making a light golden coated mare appear from the top of the staircase. Her mane was hot pink, and she wore in quite a similar style than the cherry pony.

"Whoa, this soon? Got some problems, mom?" she asked, receiving a light shake from the lady's head, making her turn her head to the other mares "How 'bout you, here to work?" she asked again.

Her voice had that rough, countryside accent, spiced with sass. It was matching her wicked, but inviting look that Agate noticed soon enough. She was walking down those stairs as she was showing off herself on the streets, elegantly, but not too much like a lady.

"Nah, just got invited while the train gets its repairs, poor thing broke down on the way from Canterlot." Agate replied, trying to take on the awesome, rough tone and this country style she liked more and more every second.

"Dinner's ready girls!" a voice shouted from the room from their right.

"Yes, mum!" the girl roared back on the top of her lungs, turning back to the other two "We gon' discuss it at the table, today's dinner is cherry pie... again."

"Please, lead the way." Rarity asked in her polite manner. The girls walked over to the kitchen, a beautiful, yet simple one of wood and red paint flowing elegantly across it.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to introduce myself, how rude of me." The pink maned pony said in a surprised tone. "Name's Cherry Milleny." she added, raising her hoof as a start of a co-operative gesture.

"I'm Agate." the mustard coated greeted, shaking her hoof with a powerful grab, that Milleny didn't leave without response. Ooh, it was on now, the battle began. Both their faces grew a wicked grin as they tried to constrain their limbs until somepony gave in. But, it didn't last too long, three gentle shakes and it ended in a draw.

"I'm Rarity." extended her right the ivory one. Their shake was a gentle autumn breeze, as Rarity's limb had a soft, but still noticeable grasp over Milleny's hoof.

"I'm Sweetie Belle!" the smallest one shouted, wanting her turn badly, making the earth pony smile and let go of Rarity's hoof to make a light contact with the filly's.

Jubilee already brought a few more red pillows by then, as well as the beautiful dinner that was steaming on the table, hot and delicious.

"Good appetite, everypony." she said, as the others sat down, thanking her all at once. Rarity and Agate took their knives, and took a slice for themselves and Sweetie, while the earth ponies decided to be the last ones.

"So, where y'all from?" the younger Cherry asked.

Agate took the entire slice she stabbed onto her fork away from her mouth to reply. "I'm from Canterlot." she said with ease, then devoured the whole part she took.

Rarity swallowed the piece that was in her mouth and answered "I came from Ponyville." she replied with a calm voice.

Milleny was completely in shock. "Well, hit me with an ice cream cone and call me a unicorn, you looked exactly the opposite."

"Yes, it is quite ironic if you ask me." the ivory coated chuckled.

"Wait, wait, wait." Agate told in a sudden moment, as she realized something "So if this is a ranch, then you grow the cherries, right?"

"We sure do, honey." giggled back Jubilee with a lighthearted smile.

"Cool! A farm in the middle of a desert, that's so awesome." the mustard one said completely overran by excitement, that got even more intense when Milleny replied.

"Hey, we can head out 'n buck some trees if you wanna see it yourself."

"Yes! Yes, please."

The enthusiasm of Agate caught Rarity off guard. Though, now that she thought about it, Agate was from Canterlot, where one doesn't even think about doing such manual work. There are hardly any trees even. The little cherry gazed over to her mother, who gave firm nod with a gentle smile as an approval, making the young one turn back to the mustard mare.

"This way, city gal." Milleny stood up, leading the girl out to the field, while the others ate their dinner.

The cherry trees were blooming wonderfully in the little oasis they grew in, all having beautiful fruits adorning them in golden, emerald and ruby colors.

"Wooow." Agate said in awe "You can't see this in the concrete jungle. It's beautiful. There are even yellow and green ones." Agate always thought of the cherries as red, for the only ones she saw in the capital's market were red.

"Never seen those kind? Pick yourself a few if you wanna try."

Agate gasped in delight and sprinted to the nearest golden cherry tree, rearing up on her hinds to reach for the fruits. They were too high for her however, requiring the unicorn to stretch her body as much out as she could. She always wanted to try this, but there were no trees whatsoever up in where she lived, other than those in the parks, of course.

"Well, that was glorious." Rarity complimented, after cleaning her mouth with the napkin on her right. "Thank you very much."

"You're ever so welcome." chuckled back Mrs. Jubilee "Come, let's see what the others are up to."

As they strolled into the garden, however, Rarity had to face possibly one of the weirdest sight she ever seen.

 _'What in Celestia's name is that pony doing?'_ she thought, standing there completely baffled. Why would an unicorn out of all species want to take something out of reach with her hoof. The mustard coated however still didn't give up, she tried to jump for it, but caught nothing but air, or only slapped a few leaves gently. Rarity wrote her down as an idiot, plain and simple.

"It would be much easier if you'd use your horn instead, don't you think?" she advised to her partner with a weirded out face.

"I know, but I'm so close, that's like admitting defeat." Agate replied as she jumped for the gold once again, with no success.

Rarity smacked her face into her hoof, then a great idea struck her mind. She proceeded towards the other side of the tree, almost snuck in terms of speed. She stretched out her hinds a little bit, transferred her body mass to her frontal limbs, and hit the tree with a powerful kick. Before even being able to let out a sound, the cherries, like golden pellets began showering the mustard coated unicorn's face. Two dizzy steps back with her front hooves above her head and she fell on her back already.

Rarity was more than satisfied by the results. Even though it was against her nature, it felt sort of good pranking Agate like that, a little payback for dropping her baggage. A sudden whistle heard from afar interrupted her line of thoughts a second later, a whistle they both recognized.

"The train!" they shouted. It was coming this way, they must have repaired it. All of them knew what that meant, the two unicorns hurried back to the others to bid a quick farewell, as missing this one was something they couldn't afford now that the sky on the west slowly sacrificed its entire territory to the east.

"Thank you so much for everything." Rarity told Jubilee as they hurried through the backyard into the kitchen.

"As I said you're always welcome." repeated herself the earth pony with a generous smile.

Agate meanwhile said goodbye to the other farmer "I like your style, we should totes hang sometime.".

"Just peak in when you have time." replied Milleny with a sassy wink as she added "Now get that train before it goes wild!"

"Sweetie Belle?" asked out Rarity her sister who appeared in that second this time, her face mucky with the cherry pie. Rarity grabbed the filly and nearest paper towel and rid her of the dirt as fast as possible.

"Wait, sis, can we bring some-"

"No!" Rarity cut in, as she levitated her sister while the two mares rushed down the street, Agate carrying the luggage.

The train was already blowing its whistle, signing that its the last chance. It seemed so far yet it was so close, yet they only realized that once they were inside. Rarity put down her sister, and after some wheezing and setting her mane, she showed her ticket to the inspector, while Agate took the luggage in. It was not the same train, however, for this was a nightly train, with its cabins being a cluster of beds. Its red curtains and wooden furniture gave it a warm and cozy feeling. Rarity took the closest on on her left, then laid down her packs so they would line up as a wall before the curtain.

"Finally, I hope there won't be any trouble now, this was way too much adventure for a day." she said, as her ivory body took place in the little bed facing just towards Agate's.

She looked outside the window, watching the crescent of the Moon rising higher and higher, until her focus targeted her own reflection, something she wasn't too pleased with. "My eyes are surrounded by wrinkles as well, so gross." she told herself, letting a yawn out as she laid down next to her sister.

"Well, good night girls." she added as she laid down. The bed was not as comfortable as hers at home, plus the fact that somepony else have surely used it just added to it, but at the moment it was her only choice. Sweetie murmured back something, while a whisper responded from her left.

"I won't sleep yet, but yeah, night Rares!"

 

~~~

 

It took Rarity a few moments to fall asleep, but then Agate called her again.

"Hey! Rares! Wake up damsel girl, we're here." she poked her friend, then helped her on her hooves as Rarity still felt sort of tired. Looking out the window the familiar scenery of Ponyville greeted her. Rarity picked up her still sleeping sister, and began to sneak out of the almost completely empty vehicle at once. The night wasn't as cold as it supposed to be in the middle of spring, but that wasn't a problem. Sweetie Belle kept snoring regardless of all this, and that kind of moved the seamstress. Even Agate admired her innocence a bit from the side. Tired from the long journey they finally arrived their home, the Carousel Boutique, that was by sheer luck just a few minutes away from the train station.

Rarity sighed "I must have a shower, who knows who else slept in those bedsheets. Agate, could you take Sweetie Belle to her bedroom? Come I'll show you the way." she whispered as she was about to turn the lights on, but changed her mind instead.

"I'm not really happy she goes to bed like that, but at most I'll take her bedsheets to the laundry tomorrow." Rarity confessed the way upwards.

They walked upstairs, where a narrow corridor with five doors awaited them, one was the living room Agate already knew, one was the fillies' room, the other three was a mystery. Rarity pointed at the one in the far right, Sweetie's bedroom. Agate snuck in, and with the help of the little light she received from opening the door, she located the bed. She gently laid the filly down and moved out, closing the door in almost complete silence.

Meanwhile Rarity began to fill her bathtub with nice, hot water. Humming a sweet song while looking at the clean, steaming hot, transparent liquid filling up the beautiful white tub already began to set her mind at ease. After she was satisfied with the quantity, she took a little dip into it, then slowly her whole left hoof, right afterwards she stepped in with the other three as well. After letting her entire body become swallowed by the water limb by limb, she turned on her backside and with a relaxing sound leaving her mouth. Finally.

As soon as the stress of the day started to leave her relaxed body and mind though, the doorknob twisted.

"Hey Rares!" said Agate charging in, making the white pony jump from shock with a shriek as she tried to hide her chest behind her hooves (for no reason whatsoever). The quick move made the steaming hot water splash all over the place, including Agate's face, who also began to scream, attempting to rub off the burning feeling.

"Haven't you learned to knock before coming in?!" Rarity whispered madly, yet her voice still remaining sort of ladylike as she didn't want to wake up Sweetie Belle, if they haven't already managed to do so.

Agate, as soon as she manage to get rid of the horrible burning feeling replied "Sorry, I didn't know you're here. It was an accident."

Rarity was not impressed by the answer the least "I just told you two minutes ago, and who else could possibly take a bath in the middle of the night. Not to mention you broke in calling my name, even." she told the other one with a fierce look towards her newfound partner who just shrugged it off.

"Okay, I lied, I knew. I just wanted to ask you where the bedroom is." Agate replied like it'd be nothing.

"Second door to left. Now, if you insist..." Rarity roared, letting her body lay back in the hot tub again.

"Okay, sure. Thanks anyway." rolled the other one her eyes, leaving the bathroom.

The angered seamstress huffed as the other one closed the door. What an inconsiderate beast, and a dirty liar as well, Agate seemed as she was aiming to get the best of her, but not from this mare, for sure. Regardless, Rarity wasn't able to relax like that again as she laid back into her little bit less hotter water. Especially when she came to realization.

"Oh my... does she want to...?!" she sat up with a quick move, and like one who noticed she's late to catch the bus crawled out from the tub.

"Ah, uh, careful." she said, trying not to slip on the marvel floor as she dried her hooves in a hurry, twisting the towel around her body and rushing to her room, but it was too late...

Agate was already sleeping... on her bed. In a strange position she lied there, on the wrong axis, not even using nor the pillows or blankets. It gave her the impression as she'd just had jumped on her bed and fell asleep that instant.

Rarity's eyes twitched, both from disgust and sheer anger. Yet she wasn't able to walk up and wake her up, as Agate was the guest here after all. Instead she just left her room, walked into the living room. She laid down on her couch and with a shivering body and a bit teary eyes she asked the mightier powers "Celestia, what did I get myself into?". Rarity regretted everything now, she wanted to quit this whole contest-thing and just get back to her normal life. Agate was a curse to her, she was sure of it now, someone cursed her, but she didn't really know who to blame.

She tried to fall asleep, she tried every possible position but it was impossible for her to reach the land of the dreams. Yet, after a couple minutes later, a voice was heard from behind.

"Hey, hey! I'm waiting for you upstairs and you're nowhere, is something wrong?" it said. It was Agate.

"Wrong?! Oh, no! Nothing is wrong at all, Darling." turned back Rarity. Her face and her voice told everything, she snapped. It was a bit too much sarcastic, and didn't mask her fury properly, if at all.

Agate walked up to her one step after another "Look, about the bed thing. I'm really sorry, I planned it as a little joke in exchange of yours." she said, this time with a different, more sincere tone. It was way different than her usual, more sad and apologetic.

"I wanted to check your room out, and when I saw that awesome bed I thought we could sleep together or something. That's where the idea came from, I just didn't notice you left the room."

Rarity didn't know what to say at first, but a few moments later she replied with the simple sentence of "That's okay."

"Mind you, I'm going to take a quick bath too, okay? Then we do whatever you please." Agate replied... completely turned out from her usual self, as some strange power or a different entity would have posessed her.

"Okay, sure, go ahead." answered Rarity, still in complete shock in what happened. Maybe Agate is a little mischievous, but not evil and respects others. If only a little, but Rarity was sort of relieved by this. Maybe it didn't seem that impossible to make a lady out of this mare after all.


	5. So... what's the plan?

"Yes.... I'd like a Maretini, Miss Sapphire... shaken... not stirred." Rarity mumbled, with a little chuckle afterwards "Yes, I did read it... long ago.".

Her smile however turned into an uncomfortable frown afterwards "The music seems a bit off, don't you think?" she asked, after all, this sort of electronic hip-hop was not an usual genre in a bar. It wasn't only off but loud as well, loud enough to get Rarity rose her body up, as she woke back to reality. She still couldn't see a thing since the shades were covering her eyes, so with a quick move of her hooves she removed them. She rubbed her eyelids as the sudden light was sort of irritating, but no less than the noise coming from outside. It seemed to come from the kitchen downstairs. Her weak body poured down from her bed as she took off to find the thing that disturbed her sleep. She cruised towards the exact source, the kitchen, as the sounds got louder and louder. Chops and stomps were heard from behind the door, matching the rhythm of the sounds.

 _'Agate!'_ she thought in herself in an angered voice. Her mind quickly changed when she saw a tail of dark blue whipping into her field of view as she opened the door with great care. In an instant she backed away, leaning towards the wall. Who was that?! Her unconscious fast threw an image of Sapphire Shores into her mind, but it was not her, for the diva had a curly tail, unlike the flat one she saw. Vinyl Scratch, perhaps? Her thoughts gone wild, someone was doing something in her kitchen, but who? What? Why? Then, out from nowhere, the music shut off and door opened.

"Yo, Rares! Morning!" a familiar voice told her.

"Agate?!" Rarity replied in shock. It was, indeed, the armorsmith, except that she had a different mane and tail. But, how? "Your mane... is blue."

The mustard coated grabbed the very closest tip of her mane with her hoof and dragged it into her field of view for some reason. "Oh yeah, it is. I dyed it myself this morning."

"Well, it is certainly interesting, but may I ask what was all this noisemaking is for?" the ivory one replied, almost shouting in fury.

"Oh, this? I was just making some, uh, stuff to eat." the armorsmith replied, dragging a dish with a few well-done sandwiches. They were all filled with various goods, hay, grass, vegetables, flowers, all that two slices of bread could handle.

Even though she was angry, this small surprise calmed the spirit of the seamstress... a little. Still, she remained who she was.  
"I'm humbled by this little gesture, I really am, but last time I checked I didn't need unbearably loud music to make my breakfast."

"Yeah, sure, if you like it the boring way, then go for the boring way." Agate replied "But, I can't do anything without listening to something."

"Then, if you don't mind, how about turning down the volume so our eardrums won't catch on fire?" Rarity asked, only polite and calm on the outside of course.

"Alright, fine..." rolled her eyes the other one with a grumpy melody in her voice, as she turned around and placed back the dishes on the table where they were at first.

"I'm glad we came to this conclusion, now that we brought it up, how did you dye your mane like that?" Rarity asked in a curious manner. It was very strange, indeed, somepony just dyeing her mane in one morning with such perfection.

"Ink gems." Agate turned back at her with a wink, as she prepared the breakfast on the table next to her. The armorsmith had every little shelf around open by the time, so wouldn't have to look into them one by one again and again.

"Ink gems?" the ivory repeated "Those are extremely rare kind, how did you even get a hold on them?". Ink gems were indeed special ones. They were able to change the color of certain items, painting them over on contact and certain amount of magical energy infused. Such jewel was distinguishable by the liquid that was flowing inside it.

"Well, yeah, if you're talking about those crystal clear, super-fancy ones where you can see the ink, yeah, those are worth a decent sum, but the lesser, common ones like lapis or garnet, they're quite cheap when they're raw, especially from ponies who don't know what they're selling." the other unicorn explained, as they took place at the tables.

Lapis and garnet, gemstones that Rarity didn't even, in her wildest dreams decided to even take out from the ground. Her standards was way above such common litter when it came to making dresses. She took a bite of the food her friend made her and it was...

"Hmmm.... Pretty decent, though I think you went a bit too far with the mustard." Rarity thought as she opened up the chest of bread to see what's inside. She never was that kind of mare whose tongue enjoyed the spicy taste, despite her words often had that kind of flavor. Still, it wasn't remotely close to being unbearable to her. Agate on the other hoof devoured it with great pleasure, figured she can take it without difficulties.

"So what's the plan?" she asked.

Rarity became confused for a moment, but she knew the topic well after her mind reminded her about it "Plan? Oh, right. I haven't come up with anything so far, to tell the truth, how about you?"

"I actually have something, I think its kinda cool." Agate replied. Despite that, Rarity knew her well and was ready to hear the craziest of the craziest.

"I thought that we should just draw a bunch of stuff and then choose our favorite." the unicorn laid it out with some gentle moves of her hooves.

"That's... a rather fine idea, actually." Rarity replied in a rather shocked tone. Who would expect her friend to come up with something that's not half bad... or half mad for that matter.

"Afterwards, we can dye your mane as well." Agate giggled, watching the ivory coated take the rest of her breakfast, cleaning her mouth that already looked clean.

"This reminds me, I need to settle some things with a friend of mine here, she will be a great help in turning you into a lady." Rarity told her as she took a glance to the upper left corner, a place her eyes favored stashing the memories. "Until then, why not take a look around in town?".

"Yeah, good idea, I should look for a real estate agent or something now that you mention it." Agate replied, looking out the window.

Rarity lowered her eyebrow hearing the words "That early? Aren't you taking this a bit too lightly?"

"I have to plan forward if I need to move out as soon as I can." Agate replied. She seemed so sure of the victory, one would say she was blinded by confidence.

Rarity was not pleased with this attitude in the slightest, but settled with the thought as she didn't want to demotivate Agate just at the start.

"Very well then." Rarity told her, as she raised her body from the pillow. She took her dish with a gentle breeze of magic and cleaned it under the sink before putting it away. Agate was doing after her, repeating all steps exactly the same way, with a huge grin afterwards.

"Good." Rarity smiled, finally Agate grew manners out of thin air. She headed towards the exit of the boutique, she had to visit somepony very important and she could not procastinate about this.

"I got to see Octavia, then, hopefully she has some free time." she explained on the way there.

"Octavia?" Agate shouted "That cello-playing little..." she ranted without consideration. As usually, she overshoot her sentence and stopped just before saying something vulgar.

"Little what?" Rarity asked in response as a counter move, hitting Agate hard.

"...nothing." Agate groaned under her muzzle.

"Now listen up! You can trash-talk about me, you can trash-talk about my things, but do not ever dare to trash-talk about my friends, understood?!" Rarity lectured her partner, who groaned with disgust.

"By the way, Octavia moved here for a roughly same reason, so you may think twice next time before you open your filthy mouth." the ivory one huffed, as she was about to leave the room "Now, if you excuse me..."

Bam!

Agate rolled her eyes and strolled back to the bathroom upstairs. She took a look into the mirror and hummed "Maybe green should have been better?"

 

~~~

 

Rarity's powerful stomps became gentle steps along the way to Tavia's home. If her partner's manners alone would have been the only problem, but the thing that annoyed her to no end was the illusion of her actually learning to behave. Hope, that was crushed with a single blow. It was art what the smith was doing.

A strange, vibrating noise twitched her ear as she knocked on the door, which became a loud noise of a bass kicking as the door opened. It was Octavia, her mane grey and beautiful as always, her face filled with grace, her eyes so... tired? Anyhow, she smiled as the white unicorn showed up.

"Greetings, Miss Rarity. What brings you here?" she told her, screaming skywards afterwards "Vinyl, could you shut it off for a while?"

"A moment, I'm just putting together this sick beat." A voice shouted back followed by a second of rampaging disco music that came and went like lightning. "Oops! I dropped it. Hahahaha!" she laughed.

Octavia, not knowing what now, just hit her head at the wall to her right with a groan.

"Vinyl seems pretty jovial today." Rarity noted with a little but still awkward smile.

"She keeps making the same joke over and over again and still finds it funny for some reason." Octavia sighed as she let her friend in, taking her to the guestroom. One time her friend was a curse, yet a blessing in the other. Octavia and Vinyl have been living here for quite a while, as two flatmates. While they don't have the money to move to different houses yet, it doesn't really bother them... well, most of the time. Still, the duo is quite notorious for their hassles from time to time.

"So what is the matter, I'd be glad to play some chords if it moves your inspiration." the earth pony smiled. Whenever Rarity wanted to create something productive but the inspiration refused to came even after she kept watching the world come and go, she laid back and listened to the beautiful melody of the bass.

"No, not this time. I'd need your help with a friend of mine." the unicorn replied as her mind started to cringe at the word "friend".

"Yes?"

"She'd like to develop some manners of a lady, since she has very little and she is living in Canterlot." the ivory coated explained. Though of course, this was a lie, but the unicorn had the skill of deception and could make it look legit without problems.

Octavia raised her eyebrow on her left "Is her name Agate by any chance?" she asked.

 _'I should have known.'_ Rarity thought, realizing her plan of keeping her friend's true identity a secret failed. It seemed as the entire Canterlot would have a bounty on her head. There was no other choice now, she had to flow with the current. "Yes."

"I'm afraid I can't help you." Octavia responded her eyes shutting like steel door hitting the ground from above. She sat down on a small pillow in the room nearby, facing away from her fellow.

The answer came completely unexpected for the unicorn. It was so blunt and straightforward, she never heard Octavia refusing anything like this before.  
"What? Why not?"

"I recognize an impossible task when I see one, Miss Rarity." Tavia told her.

The situation might be worse than she though. However Rarity didn't took no for an answer, especially from Octavia. "You could keep Vinyl on a leash so far, you have much more experience in the topic.".

Octavia turned her back to the unicorn "She is enough stress me a day, I need no more, especially not that... I mean, especially not Agate."

Rarity lowered her eyebrows. She hates such primitive behavior like calling each other names, there was something so infuriating in it to her. She refused to sit down in front of her, rather stood if needed.  
"Agate also played this card this morning, I do hope I don't need to repeat myself. Is there something specific that bothers you about her?" Rarity asked.

"It's... nothing." she replied, her face completely red from all the anger that was ready to erupt like a volcano in any second. "Just bring her here tomorrow, I have a few things to discuss with her." she continued.

Rarity looked somewhat more delighted "Can I take it as a yes, then?"

"It depends, I have to see her myself." the bassist said, now in a more calm tone than before, as she stood up and made her way to the kitchen.

Rarity nodded with a warm smile and decided to drop the hot topic now that it was decided. Time was ticking and wasting an entire day seemed rather risky, but she forced nothing on Tavia.

"Anyhow, have you heard about Lovesick's big Equestria 3 tour?" she asked.

"Ah, yeah. It must have been a tough decision to reveal herself in public after so many years. But again, with those rumors floating around, I can understand. Poor girl." Octavia replied as she took two glasses out from the shelf nearby, with a bit of the usual wine to spice the conversation.

 

~~~

 

In the meanwhile, Agate was strolling around the town, her mane now boasting with a pale red color instead.  
"Rose, there you are sweetheart." a calm voice of a stallion slapped her ear as a hoof touched her spine.

"S'up?" she told the stranger, revealing something the stallion didn't expect, a horn. He had a coat of brown with a darker shade in his mane, as well as he wore a very elegant, green necktie.

Only afterwards he noticed the ribbons and the gem."Oh, excuse me, I must have been mistaken." he apologized with a red face.

"Nah, it's fine, it didn't hurt. Though not knowing how your marefriend looks like is pretty naff... just saying." Agate note with a bit sour voice "I'm Agate, by the way." she introduced herself, reaching out with her hoof that the stallion gladly accepted.

"Name is Time Turner, I set and repair the clocks around the town." he responded, shaking hoof with the mare when from behind he noticed her... and she had a clear sign of disturbance in her eyes. It was the time he thought the small mistake he made is going to lead him to his doom.

He dropped Agate's hoof with a short "Excuse me." and ran to her mare. "Oh hi Rose."

"Timey?"

Agate also looked back to see the actual marefriend. The sight made her jaw drop with a huge smile.

"You know what? I take that back, I can't blame you for mistaking me with her." Agate laughed. Rose had a coat of very light beige and a pale scarlet mane that looked exactly like Agate's. "We're like carbon copies of each other." she added.

"Huh? No, we don't even look similar." Rose denied "My coat is much lighter than yours." she pointed out, reaching out her hoof to compare it with the other mares. Though it was indeed a difference, it didn't seem too significant.

"Rose, this is Agate, Agate this is Rose." Time explained, now that the two girls were holding each other's hooves.

"Nice to meet you." they said at the same time, though Agate's last word rather sounded like a "Ya" instead, as usual.

"We should get going now, the clock tower is stopped again, but we could take some time together." Rose told her with a delightful smile.

"Totally." replied Agate, waving and strolling away filled with energy. The ponies in this town were indeed most outgoing and on top of that, loose. She could easily imagine living here... though she felt she forgot something she wanted to do.

 

~~~

 

Arriving at her temporary home the smell of something burning smacked her in the face.  
_'Fire?'_ she thought, until she heard the squeals and noises coming from the kitchen. Yes, she most likely knew where it was coming from now. It was Rarity, trying to defend herself from the blazing fires she tried to calm down without any success. The pan suddenly began to glow with a purple aura in front of her, along with a voice she knew well enough.

"Watch out!" Agate shouted, taking the pan off the stove and throwing it into the empty sink where they wash the dishes. The flames began to calm there bit by bit, as the pops similar to fireworks with the bubbly noises started to disappear at once, leaving nothing but ashes behind.

Rarity sighed "Well, so long for lunch, I guess. Thank you.". Cooking wasn't something she was very good at. She needed to follow the recipies exactly to make something right, though often something minor was off still. It was something both Sweetie Belle and her inherited from the looks of it.

"Anytime, Rares. Should have left it to me if you know you can't cook, though." Agate replied with a cheerful tone.

"I can cook, thank you. Just... not very well." responded the ivory coated, with another sigh afterwards "I should have asked Mom to teach me before they go on their holiday."

In all of a sudden, however, Agate began to chuckle. "Guess you're in that stuff I was in when leaving home. Though it explains why you're living alone here with your sister." she told her, wrapping her leg around her friend's neck as she began shaking it, saying "Come on now, we got to draw something today as well."

"I guess you are right, this can wait." Rarity replied, snapping out of the melancholic state she was in as she turned back, leading the way upstairs.

"By the way, have you found the agent you were looking for?" she asked.

"What agent?" Agate asked back, making the seamstress turn back her head forwards with a deeply disturbed look on it. Did Agate just forgot that one thing she was going to do today alone?

Rarity opened the door of her bedroom and with a little charge of her magic she took a couple papers and pencils to give to her partner.  
"You know, I was thinking we should work in separate rooms, just to make it a bit more exciting." she suggested now a bit more jovial than before.

"Good idea. I'll be in Sweetie's room then." Agate replied as she took the papers and left the room with strange giggles coming from her mouth.

Rarity was all by herself again... and it felt so lovely. She laid down her tired and used body on her beautiful bed and waited for her muse to come, which didn't take long.  
"A-ha! Idea!" she sang as the pencil and the paper started their marvelous dance with each other.

Agate on the other hand, chose to lay on the hard ground instead, bursting out weird giggles with a creepy grin.  
"Hihihi, yes, yes, it's perfect." she whispered in herself as she kept on drawing and drawing.

 

~~~

 

About an hour or so later, Agate knocked on the door of the other room. With an approval, she walked in with the reference sheets of her pieces, and she had plenty of them, just like Rarity.

"Well, well, that was quite a productive session for you, I see." Rarity marked in delight.

"Yeah, you can say that, check this out!" Agate told her uncurling the sheet of her favorite of all. "Full-steel plate that can reflect anything coming at it, razor-sharp spikes on the shoulder plates and smaller ones on sides and cracked golden motives all over it. Everypony is going to step aside if you come down the street in this thing."

"Certainly... unique." Rarity said with an awkward grin. The 'thing' was ugly as sin, as if it would have been made for a goblin. She rather took one of hers instead.

"How about this one?" she replied, raising on of her papers.  
"A beautiful, purple traditional priestess robe with a hint of french baroque along the double frills and the end, plus shining golden accessories. Older styles of fashion is always respected by most." the unicorn explained, that bit of pride coming through her voice clearly.

Purple, frills and pish-posh, all cringeworthy a dress can ever have, melted into one piece. Agate still needed to have a closer look at that, maybe just to make her feel like throwing up even more. Rarity's eyes popped open when a tugging feeling took over her reference sheet, however.

"Let me take a look." Agate said, trying to pull the paper out of her friend's grasp.

"What? No, that's mine." Rarity replied, holding her plans with all her unicorn power.

"I just want to-"

Rip! In a strike of lightning the blueprint had lied in both their magical grasp, in half. Rarity didn't believe it happened for a few seconds, she kept gasping for air a few times before she lost her mind.

"That's it missy! There was a line, and you stepped it over, it's on now." she screamed in anger, taking away Agate's paper in a swift move, and before her eyes, tearing it in two. Then, she released them with a calm face, letting the gravity take care of the rest.

Agate couldn't tell a word, it happened so fast, but she already made up her mind during the process.  
"I wanted to apologize, actually, but, you know, I changed my mind. War is war!" she shouted.

 

~~~

 

"If you would have paid attention you would know this is a dress contest, not a freak show." Rarity shouted out loudly, stepping up close to her friend.

"Well I'm not going to get in with this fabric waste, you better forget about it." Agate replied with a similar volume, pushing up her face against the other unicorn's too.

"Need I remind you who was begging for help yesterday? I am helping YOU out, if you don't remember. Maybe it just didn't get through that thick skull of yours."

"A thick skull that's going to break yours!"

Both mares took a step back from each others face, as their noses were almost touching each other. Words were not enough here anymore, actions were the only way to solve this. Their horn charged up with turquoise and magenta, as the two unicorns charged head-on in a vicious battle. As their horns clashed with all their might, they released a mystical sound with a raising pitch. The unicorns spar with quick and swift attacks, as the sound constantly changed its intensity and pitch with each collision. Their precious plans and papers all torn and crumpled under their hooves. Agate's blows were heavier, as her horn was somewhat longer and her magic was stronger than the one the ivory coated had. Rarity, however could turn her speed and cunning mind to her advantage, and she needed to do so quick because the wall was getting closer and closer behind her.

A swift duck from a right slash seemed an appropriate time for a counterattack, and the ivory one pierced upwards with her horn. That worked, forcing Agate to take a step back. Rarity made a quick thrust forwards once again to gain some more space as the armorsmith leaped back.

Agate needed that gap back however, and charged straight towards it with a powerful blow from above, one that the ivory coated could parry in the last second, resulting in a strength competition once again.

Agate kept oppressing Rarity, who was forced lower and lower, yet from this hopeless situation, the seamstress still saw a risky, but possible escape route. She had little choice and even less strength. A swift swipe in an arc downwards and she got the armorsmith off her balance, tripping her at her front legs. Agate didn't even had time to blink but she was already on a roll, and by the time she opened her eyes the ivory coated already made it on the top of her, her glowing blue horn pointing towards her foe's throat.  
"Touché!" she said, her eyes filled with evil happiness.

"Rarity, I'm home!" a voice shouted from outside. Sweetie Belle, who just arrived back from school. Only then did the two realize the mess around them. Papers were lying everywhere across the room, the carpet ragged completely. Somehow even a roll of fabric fell down from the shelves which it was stored on.

"Rarity! Hey, sis." the filly said as the door opened. However as soon as she saw the two mares, she slowly closed it back. In a sudden, the two finally arrived back to reality, the anger leaving embarrassment behind. Rarity jumped away as she let Agate free to see her sister, with the armorsmith following her by slower steps.

"Sweetie Belle, h-how was your day?" Rarity said with a red face and awkwardness oozing from her mouth.

"What were you doing in there?" Sweetie asked, her face showing worries towards her sister.

"We were just..." Rarity tried to explain, but as her mind couldn't come up with anything rational, she gave in with a heavy sigh "We were fighting."

"Sister, if I remember few days ago you said that a lady doesn't fight neither at home, neither at school, never." Sweetie replied in puffed up manner to pick on her sister, as she took out her tape player from her bag "I even have it recorded."

A click later Rarity's voice was emitted by the device. "Sweetie Belle, a lady doesn't fight neither at home, neither at school, never!"

"B-but Diamon-"

"NEVER!" and with a click, all stopped. Rarity wanted to run, run and hide somewhere nopony will ever find her again. Her own actions betrayed the rules she set for her sister. So embarrassing. So shameful.

"It's alright Rarity." Sweetie giggled as she hugged her big sister "As long as I can punch Tiara in her face." she added in a bloodthristy tone in her voice.

Rarity didn't know what to say, it was either being hypocritical or being unladylike.

"Nah, it was me who got to her neck, Rares was just defending herself." Agate added, hanging her head in awkwardness as she stared at the floor.

"Alright, alright." Sweetie replied "So, will you apologize?"

The two mares stared at each other deep in the eyes.  
"Agate, I..." started Rarity "I'm truly sorry for all I've stated before, I didn't mean it, at all." she continued.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too." Agate replied. "I wasn't being serious either, I just flipped out for nothing."

"Peace?" Sweetie asked.

"Peace." sounded the collective answer.

"Yay!" the filly shouted. "Now, don't let me see you do it again, or I'll tell Mum you like girls." she said in a lecturing manner, trotting to her room with big giggles afterwards.

"What?! You... you wouldn't dare it." she shouted at the laughing filly who just ran to her room, shutting the door.

"She wouldn't dare it... I know her." Rarity mumbled in herself. Agate strolled back to Rarity's room, they had a mess to clean up after all. Yet both of them stopped at one strange formation on the floor. Two pieces of paper, laying next to each other in a way, that they were sort of fitting together.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Agate asked.

"There is little chance, but I believe I do." Rarity replied. She charged up her horn and placed the two pieces on her drawing table. Agate took up every other thing scattered on the ground, as threw them out on the trash can.

The ivory coated took up her stylish, orange reading glasses and laid down comfortably on the back of her bed, Agate joining her from the right as well as the papers and pencils in front of them.

"Oh, sexy glasses." Agate said, receiving a pretty disturbed but still sort of thankful look from the seamstress. Was she just fooling around to make it look like Sweetie Belle was right, or was actually meaning it was not something she wanted to know.

"Shall we get started, then?" Rarity asked with a smug smile.

"Sure we shall." Agate told her friend, winking back as the two unicorns began working now with united forces.

Time flied by as the two friends shared their moments of laughter, creativity and after a while, hunger. However, they preferred not to try cooking once again, rather bring the dinner from a nearby restaurant. Anyhow, the reference for the dress was ready, and it looked just perfect. It wasn't a dress, but neither was it an armor, much like a little bit of both. Rarity laid it on the desk with careful moves, as the girls decided to get try out something new.

 

~~~

 

"So you just..."

"Simply brush it along your mane while focusing on the parts you want to paint." Agate repeated, assuring Rarity of the process.

Rarity still stared at the little garment, not understanding how such small, shapeless and ugly stone can do such wonderful things.

"If you're still not sure, check this out." Agate told her as she took out a shining black gem from her saddlebag, an onyx. Not any onyx, however. Rarity, step by step, approached the jewel. She couldn't believe her own eyes. The ink inside was there, seen crystal clearly as she shook it from time to time.

"I found this little fella below Rainbow Falls on a vacation. I use her the least for obvious reasons, but, uh, yeah, you can give a go with her if you would like to." Agate explained, letting go of the magicial aura, and laying it down in the hooves of the seamstress.

"Can I?" Rarity asked, as she took a look at Agate, then back at the jewel. "Thank you very much."

She closed her eyes and stroked the onyx along her magnificent, curly mane. She could feel the odd wave of magic rushing through it. As she opened it once again, her reflection in the mirror told her everything. The black mane looked gorgeous, yet dark and menacing on her. She ran it down her tail to see the magic slowly engulfing and turning the curls from blue to black.

She took a step closer, checked her mane from all sides, then let out a pleased smile for a second, frowning a bit afterwards.

"Oh wait, this blue is just terrible." she thought aloud, refering to her eye shadows that were now unifitting her new style.  
While Rarity took out her makeup kit Agate also dyed her mane and tail from red to black, leaving only little of the liquid left in the jewel.

"Perfect!" Rarity thought, now that her eyeshades were changed to a charcoal black as well. "You look pretty smashing as well." she told her partner who was also changing her eye shadows. A quick look in the mirror, to check if a spot wasn't left out, then the girls were ready to hit the streets of the night in search of a restaurant.

"Oh, wait a second." Rarity said, turning back from the door as her horn charged up, taking out a black fabric of a robe and wrapping it around her neck. "Never thought I'll use this again, actually."

"Cool, you look totally like a vampony now." Agate complimented "All you need is a pair of red eyes." she added.

"Oh just wait for it darling, just wait for it." Rarity chuckled with a wicked smile as she closed the door of the boutique.

 

~~~

 

The situation slowly began to return to normal. Everypony was happy. The girls could work together without significant conflicts and the forces of light and dark lived in balance again... for now.


	6. Let's become ladies

The clock didn't need to wake from its rest the next day morning, as Rarity's eyes popped open by themselves. She monitored the field around her, seeing a faint yellow from her right, laying with her back towards the ivory one. Agate was still asleep. Rarity's other eye opened up as well, as she tried to withhold a gentle giggle behind her muzzle. Ever so slowly did she descended from her bed, despite she knew Agate doesn't wake up on every change around her. She snuck past her mirror to her shelf when an odd sight caught her attention, the black mane of her reflection. Although she knew about it, she was yet to get used to it. As she adored her dark beauty for a brief moment was she reminded of her little mission, making let out a small giggle once again. Rarity was not that kind of pony, but a small, harmless prank once in a while was acceptable for her. She opened her shelf looking left and right, taking out a small box of blue and white. After she found what she was looking for she pushed the container back to its original position with her tush. But a small moan was heard. Was Agate waking up? No, the mustard coated just turned around for a more comfortable position.

Without any more time to waste Rarity left the room, and entered the bathroom to put on her loot, a pair of contacts she never used before. She carefully placed one on her right hoof and with a disgusted groan she attempted to put it on. However, her right eye just refused to co-operate. It just didn't want that thing, always closing as the mare's hoof approached closer and closer. The ivory coated let out an angry noise after each fail but after time, she managed to get both of the lenses on. She reached for the cupboard, where she hid two pieces of plastic last night. Her light blue aura of her horn charged up, taking a few cosmetic tools from the shelves. In no time, she put the black eyeliner in good use. Her dark eyelashes were looking more vicious than ever with her eyes being surrounded by her new mascara. Then, she placed the soft, harmless pieces of plastic in her mouth where they belonged. Oh, what a terrifying, mystical creature she became, yet still, she had an odd charm to her. A charm she happened to like a lot, actually. She took a good look from all sides, then gazed out the window for a second. The Sun was slowly rising up in a distance, making the unicorn hiss in disgust, with a cute giggle afterwards. After all done, she proceeded to the next step.

Rarity peeked out the door, no souls near or far, everypony asleep. Wonderful. She made big, but slow moves forwards, until she reached the stairs that led down. With small and careful steps she traveled down on it. There was nothing to worry about from that point. She trotted to the fridge without any attempts of hiding, opening it and rubbing her front right hoof to the icy cold surface on the side. Few seconds later her limb began to feel a bit numb from the bitter cold. She took it out and closed the door, silently singing a little song she was reminded of.

"She is cold as ice..." she sang, watching her hoof letting off a bit of an icy steam as it began to warm up. Not for long, for she had no time for that. Turning around and making her way upstairs, she got to the final chapter in her plan. This was a critical moment, if she would have been too slow, her hoof would have warmed up, if she would have been too fast, however, Sweetie Belle or even Agate could have woke up. It was all about finding the perfect balance between speed and execution, and the seamstress did magnificently.

She entered the room Agate was still sleeping in, all the curtains drawn together. No seeking eyes, just the predator, and her prey. She snuck up to the other mare, rubbing her right hoof at her neck that was cold as a corpse. It was but a slow, gentle touch. The goosebumps just appeared like an infestation on Agate's body, as a visible shiver went down her spine. Her eyes crawled up to blurry splatters of white and black that took a form of a black-maned unicorn with frightening scarlet eyes wrapped in black fog. Two enormous fangs were sticking out as she whispered the following words like menacing wind just before the storm.

"Give me your blood!"

Agate's eyes popped open in an instant. She seemed as would have been just launched from a cannon. With a loud scream she sprung backwards, falling off the other side of the bed, bringing the blanket with her. Rarity couldn't hold back her feelings. She burst out in chuckles as the other mare got up to look over the bed once again, the blanket laying on her head in an odd angle.

"Rarity!" Agate shouted at the giggling mare.

"Good morning, Agate." the vampony laughed in a reserved, cute way after she got rid of the annoying fangs in her mouth.

"Seriously, I thought I'm going to get a heart attack." the armorsmith told her in an irritated manner as she took the blanket off her head.

"I'm sorry, darling, I truly am, but I just couldn't let the opportunity slip away." Rarity replied as her chuckles began to fade away.

"You'll get back this one, just lettin' you know." Agate replied "Pretty eyes by the way, contacts?"

"Thank you, and yes. I originally wanted to work with them but its too gross for me, I'm having hard time putting them on." Rarity admitted with a small sigh. "Plus they came in red which looks downright atrocious next to the purple, anyway, shall we get to the shopping today?"

"I thought Octavia was the plan for today." Agate replied, that got the other mare thinking. Getting all the exquisite fabric, threads, steel and jewelry would take at least a whole day. However Agate needed her lessons, and time was counting back without any signs of stopping.

"You know, let's have a breakfast first and we can discuss it meanwhile." Rarity suggested.

"Well, since I wouldn't be able to sleep back anyway..." Agate responded with a gentle shrug. "I won't skimp the ketchup this time." she chuckled opening the door to the lady.

Rarity rolled her eyes and shrugged the terrible joke off like it was nothing as she passed by the mare "Oh, please..."

"Why? You'll see, those sandwiches are something you can really sink your teeth into."

"Okay, that's enough..."

"Aw sucks! I just started to get the fang of it."

"Agate!"

 

~~~

 

The two mares took a seat in front of the desks once again. As Rarity reached for the knives with her magical aura of turquoise, Agate took a look into the fridge with her amethyst one. Even though the sun just barely took off the horizon, the two was already fresh and ready to take on the day... except for Agate, who was yet to set her messy mane.

"I was thinking, Agate." Rarity said, as she let one of the buttered knives slide back and forth along the bread. "If we can't go shopping for supplies, maybe we should split up for today."

"What do you mean?" Agate replied with full mouth, something that irked Rarity, but she knew it will happen.

"While you're at Octavia in the afternoon, I might go find some jewels for the dress in the ridge nearby, the usual place of mine." she explained. "Until then, we might as well write the list together."

"Good thinking, we can get some time with that." the mustard coated replied, as she finished off her breakfast. "Mind you showing me where to put the knives?" she asked.

Rarity also finished with her breakfast and hearing the unusual words she felt like giving a compliment as she joined her partner in cleaning the dishes.   
"My, my, Agate, this was so refined." she told her. Such use of words from a girl like the her was something she felt even an oracle couldn't have seen coming. It gave her hope, much of it.

Agate let out a heavy sigh as response however, a sound that filled the seamstress with worry.

"You know... mother always wanted me to be just like her, so she always spoke to me and Belle Garde like she spoke to the ponies on the street." she explained.

"Belle Garde?" Rarity asked, as the name was entirely new to her. Yet, she liked it, it sounded so nice, elegant and classy. Belle Garde, just saying it was a pleasure.

"Our housemaid, she was generally caring about me but just because mother told her so." the mustard coated confessed as her purple irises became hidden under her eyelids, only for a bit of a pause. "Doesn't matter, I live there no more." she added in a cold manner as she put back the dishes to their place.

There was more to this - the ivory coated thought - it wasn't only a loss of reputation around her living space but inside it too. It seemed as if Agate was in bad terms with her family as well. That would explain why she was living alone with her closest friends being her own tools. For now, though, the unicorn decided to let this mystery unpacked, especially if her partner had a skeleton in the closet and would lash back out on her for discovering it. There was something that was bugging her still, for Agate always took a bath and washed her teeth ever since she moved in. She was causing much less headaches to her than she expected. It could have been her simply trying to get her favor, or something else.

The two unicorns, after their breakfast, returned to their bedroom to write final list containing the ingredients for glory or death. Though, Rarity stopped by her sister's room to wake the filly from her deep slumber, it was time to school. After that being done, they returned to Rarity's room at once. The drawing of their final decision lit up with a gentle blue aura as it was levitiated over to them, while a magenta aura brought pencils and papers over there.

The dress looked amazing. At the skirt part, layers of steel studded together to make it less firm and give space to the moving hind legs, while a pattern of transparent silk organza would lay on its top of purple and red, with white lines giving hold to the pattern and black streaks hiding the less fashionable parts. It looked just like the beautiful windows of the canterlotian palace. Bells made of silver and a three rings of steel with a round, shield-like steel plate on the bottom adorned with gems and beautiful, jet black and maroon saddle on the top connected the steel with the fabric. The chestpiece of dark pink and red fabric was gifted with a similar pattern in the middle, running up from the shield part to the wonderful collar adorned by bells and yellow motives. Two puffs similar to the upper part were found on the sides, hiding a part of the legs, their motives cut by the collar. From that point, only the cold monster of steel that lurked behind the beauty was shown, making it's way upwards, up, even engulfing the neck completely. Unlike the Guardian's Bride, the fabric and the steel embraced one another in a glorious masterpiece, the Cherry Orchard Dress.

The named bugged Rarity a little bit, since she saw no sign of cherry in it, at least until Agate pointed out the bells and the overall red color. Still, Rarity preferred the "Rose Window" name, or something related to rose windows.

After all preparations the ivory coated began the listing "Okay, we're going to need silk..."

 

~~~

 

The list seemed all ready in an hour, and it turned out pretty long. So many things were needed, yet time looked so short.   
Rarity felt as she made a good decision with the plan of splitting up. Yet she felt like taking some time with Octavia and Agate, just a little push to get the machine rolling.

Her instincts told her something will not be alright all the way down the street. She kept wondering just how bad the two of her friend's relationship could be, and why. She was making plans the way there, preparing for all scenarios that her mind could come up with. She knocked on the door, with the gray coated mare opening it.

  
"Greetings Miss Rarity." she said with a warm smile, that turned into a disgusted frown as she turned her eyes to Agate.

"Thief?"

"Prick?"

The two words came and go as lightning, yet Rarity heard them both, and it shook her body to the bone, filling up with madness. Two shots they kept withdrawn in front the ivory mistress, yet they fired them on sight of one another. This was already bad, but she decided not to let the situation descend any deeper, at any price.

"Okay, now I had enough!" she stomped in her boiling anger "What on Equestria is wrong with you two?!"

Octavia frowned a little bit more, then invited the ivory one "Come in." She already prepared a bottle of wine for the arrival, however she was not calm enough for a glass, nor were the others.

The others took seat on the red sofa by the side, while Octavia prepared the drink on the table by the side, then joined them on a smaller pillow, sighing up.

"So what's all the fuss between you?" Rarity asked again, still furious but not shouting like before. The two completely turned inside out just by looking at each other, yet the reason was unknown yet. She wanted answers, now!

Octavia let out another heavy sigh "It was back in Canterlot High School, where I started my music career..."

"There was this musical competition something which I beat her in quite good." Agate cut in, getting straight to the point. Rarity was sort of grateful for this action but didn't make this any noticable. The less time these two spend arguing the less time is thrown out the window.

"That place was mine!" Tavia shouted "Hammers and saws are not instruments. You didn't deserve anything but disqualification."

"Oh, they can be in my opinion, and as I recall, in the judges' opinion as well. Don't worry, your lost bets found good owners, I'm sure." Agate replied with a smug grin.

"You humiliated me in front of the entire school." the bassist screamed in her fury.

"And you deserved it!" shouted back the other one.

"What bets, may I ask?" Rarity inquired as she only observed and listened for now. Though under the calm surface she was deeply irritated by the things going headfirst against her plans.

Agate replied sooner "Octavia was so sure in her victory that her pumped-up ego let her make bids since flaunting around was not enough anymore."

"Don't listen to her, she is lying!" Tavia recoiled back, hearing the words from her foe's mouth.

"So when I entered the contest and beat her with Hammy and Sissy she got a lethal blow to her self-esteem."

"Because you bribed the judge and cheated." Octavia raised her volume once again.

"What?!"

"Agate knew she needed the good reputation of the contest to get out of her mother's basement and start her own business, and since her mom was in good terms with Royal Ribbon, she brought the price for pocket money for her little, helpless daughter." the bassist continued with a condescending tone, forcing down Agate's pill on her own throat.

"Hey, shut up! That's not true." Agate shouted up once again.

"Enough from both of you!" Rarity stomped once more in frustration "Whatever happened was years ago, both of you changed since. You should forget what happened, and learn to work together."

"Why exactly? So she can win something she would not deserve... again?"

"Why wouldn't I deserve winning? Because you're too blind and vindictive because of your failure? Or do you think smithing takes no talent either?"

"Stop! Both of you!" Rarity shouted even louder, but the answer she received was unexpected.

"Make us!" sounded back from both sides, neither of them even looking towards the way of the white one.

At this point, Rarity felt so mad, so disappointed, she felt that the world around her was to collapse. Her head was hurting, and she felt nauseous. She could explode, smash the wall a new hole with a precise punch even, but on the outside, rarely any of this was seen.

  
"Alright, then don't stop. Keep up this childish war-game for all I care, I give up."

She stood up and bailed out, heading to the exit without any sign of her fury that could have made all Equestria burn down to the ground if let loose. Both mares fell into cold silence as the unicorn left, closing the door behind as if she was just a breeze.

 

~~~

 

Rarity decided to walk somewhere, anywhere but that place was fine to her. Yet she couldn't handle the frustration inside her that was about to erupt in a loud groan a second later, turning into a painful sigh afterwards. The steam left, and her head felt much lighter. Much better.

_'Alright. Even if Octavia can't teach her something I can still try to teach her to walk and pose properly, along with Fleur maybe, yes. In worst case Twilight may have a transformation spell and I could just take the stage twice. It would have its risk but-_

"Rarity! Wait!" a voice cut interrupted her from behind again, a voice that brought back the frustration she just eradicated from her body. Yet deep inside she hoped they want good, and she didn't let anger turn the situation to one even worse.

"Yes?" she turned back, her fluttering eyes clearly showing what she felt inside.

"We'd like to apologize for what we said." Octavia told her in a regretful melody "Truly this competition means a lot to you, and if it means you need my aid in winning, I give my best to help."

"Yeah, we were too much into this fight stuff, sorry Rares. We couldn't think properly." Agate added. Both looked sad and regretful because of their own actions, it was seen in their eyes too.

Rarity, for the surprise of both of them began giggling under her muzzle though.   
"Very well then, I'm glad you two learned to live in peace at last, I have no reason to be upset anymore." she said "However I need to get to the mines soon as I can, I'm still not sure if I can get home before sundown even."

"Sure thing Rares! We can handle this from now on." replied Agate with a wink full of trust and confidence that curled up the lips of the ivory one even more. A gentle nod, and she strolled off with a small wave of her hooves. She had her doubts, naturally, but she wished for the bests and didn't let the negative thoughts engulf her mind once again.

 

~~~

 

"Alright" Octavia whispered as she closed the door of her home "Vinyl isn't home so its just you and me. Let's get this over with."

  
She took a careful look around to see if there is anything helpful they can start with. The bookshelf caught her attention, she rushed there and took down a good handful of its contents.

"Okay, first lesson is the posture. Every lady has to have an elegant look and impression. Here try to balance these on the top of your head." she told the smith walking back to the baffled, mustard coated unicorn. "Just try three first, then we will add more and more with time."

Agate, smiling at the ease of the task took the first three from the top with the help of her magic and placed them atop her head. However, as soon as the faint purple aura dissipated around the stack they began to lean to the left. That made the armorsmith tilt her head a bit to the left as well for correction, but without success. The books hit the ground in no less than a second. Agate became a bit of confused, she was sure she put them on the right place.

"Wait, wait, let me try again." she said, as the books were once again engulfed in the purple mist. Yet this time, they decided to bend to the other way, falling off on the right side.

"Hey, what the-"

Octavia counted this in, though the situation was worse than she expected. However, Agate's need to get down this obstacle could be used to speed up the process.

"It's just the matter of practice. Let me help." she told her, putting her left hoof on the forehead of the other mare. "Head lifted, neck a bit back, legs together." she added, as she set Agate to the preferred position like a model. She took another three books from the stack and put it atop the mare, then - after a bit of careful balancing - let them go. Agate stood completely still, and for her surprise, the papers on her head as well.

After a rough five seconds Octavia spoke up "Okay, now try to walk towards me, slowly." she instructed her, taking a few steps back. Agate raised her right limb, inch by inch, took a careful step forwards...

... and the books hit the ground again.

"Gah." groaned the mustard one as she tried once again. Just three books, yet with Octavia's advice she managed to keep the book on her head tiny bit longer with each try. The improvement was raw gold, very little yet tangible, and with a lot of value. She wanted to prove Rarity her abilities, that was driving her.

 

~~~

 

Speaking of her, the seamstress returned to her home with a little sadness on her face.   
"Aww, too bad my Spikey had to go to Canterlot on this day of all." she thought, trotting towards her closet and with a small charge of her horn opening it.

"Good thing I have prepared for such rough times as well." the unicorn continued as a mysterious click sounded. The back of the furniture moved away, revealing a secret area where Rarity hold one of her many skeletons.   
With a delightful melody she shouted up upon finding what she was looking for as the item flew out from the closet. "Haha!".

It was a shovel. No, actually, it was not just a shovel. It was a beautiful, shining one with a flawless steel spade, a wooden handle made of the finest oak around, and on the top of all, a beautiful diamond in the centre of the handle. It was Rarity's custom shovel, she paid a lot for it, but it looked so charming she never had the heart to get it dirty... let alone to get herself dirty. There was no other choice this time, and somehow the presence of somepony who works with steel convinced her that any smaller damage could be repaired on it. She put it in her saddlebag, only to have its T-shaped wooden end with the diamond shown. She pulled out her little cart from under her table and with a small farewell to her little sister she hurried out to the field. One last look back at the clock that just passed half past three and she closed the door behind her.

 

~~~

 

"Well done." clapped Octavia as she watched Agate, somewhat slowly but steadily cantering across the room with the books on her head. It was a magnificent sight for her, and she believed Rarity would be glad to see it as well. Deep inside, the bassist was also glad she made this decision. The feeling of teaching somepony with success gave her a warm feeling she never felt before.

 _'It's in her blood, it seems. She just didn't know about it.'_ she thought in herself, scratching her jaw back and forth. "Alright, this will be enough for today."

"Meet ya tomorrow then?" the armorsmith asked, joyful from her own victory as well. She couldn't wait to show Rarity how much she improved.

"Vinyl will get back tomorrow from her tour, but I hope she'll let us be. If not we can still always practice in the library." the bass playing mare giggled, opening the door to her friend. "Take care!"

"Catch'a later!" Agate bid farewell and took her leave. The sun was setting already, however some shops were still open outside. She just hoped the one she saw yesterday would be open.

"Alright, now which street was it, actually?" she said to herself as she trotted down towards the town hall in a distance. The highest chance to find a town map seemed to be there. Few streets later did she notice the darker building from the corner of her eye. When she turned her full focus there she noticed a small part of the tie and the heart logo hanging from its side. Yes it was exactly what she was looking for, making her increase her pace as she got around the building, a strange, dark purple hut with bats, spiderwebs and pumpkins. The sign said: "Gothica's Spooky Shop" and "Costumes and Accessories" in smaller letters. It was still open, so missing the chance was no option.

She ambled up the door and opened it, seeing nothing but darkness inside at first. But as she stepped in, cautious and quite scared, she saw that a few candles made it able to see the visible surroundings. Then out of nowhere, a pack of dolls with long black manes, white eyes and an unnerving grin dropped into her field of view, making her gasp for air out of shock.

A wicked evil laugh was echoing across the room as the dolls ascended, with a dark character walking out from behind the purple curtain. However, the closer she came the friendlier she looked.

Her skin was of a similar ivory color than that of Rarity's, but with a slight shade of pink. Her mane of pink and purple, even though was set with great care, still looked strange and messy from the horizontal pattern of the different colors, as it formed gigantic orbs, three on each side, smaller and smaller ones the closer they were to the ground. Eyes made of plastic were scattered all inside it, peaking out and into the void. Her eyes of hot pink just seared from joy, kindness and life. One particular scarlet red eye however was adorning her charcoal black bowtie, much on the like the logo of the shop, which turned out to be her cutie mark.

She took a long stick of chalk into her mouth a drew another line on the table to her right. Right into the first column, named "Scared", while the second one had the text "Not scared" above it, with mere one line, while the first one had five, ten, twenty... too many to count.

"Welcome, welcome, how may I help you?" the mare asked in a casual, high-pitched tone. She was filled with energy and not only looked but also sounded the kind of childish yet very outgoing mare. It had a calming effect in this old-looking, dark and scary little building.

Agate's heart still couldn't get over the prank, yet with a calm tone replied "I'm looking for a specific costume, Gothica."

"Well, you're a few months late for Nightmare Night" the strange shopkeeper giggled, "but that doesn't mean I don't have anything in store for you. Come take a look... _if you dare._ " she added with long and menacing words. She rushed behind the curtain on her right, dragging a whole lot of clothes on a long rack out.

Agate's eyes caught the one she just needed in an instant. Fur, two red eyes and creepy fangs on the headdress, a chestpiece made of gray fabric, along with fur paws with plastic claws. It was.... not exactly what she hoped for. While its pieces were not making up a full fur suit, Agate wasn't disappointed by this one too much either. It might just have worked if she set the stage up well.

However, there was that other thing on the shelf of her left side that also interested her. A pair of horns, beautiful and curvy, similar to a ram's, namely, succubus horns.

Succubi were Agate's favorite mythical creature for some reason, they were attracting her, seducing her. Now that she thought about it, vamponies and succubi had a lot in common, but while one brought pain, the other brought pleasure. Maybe that one was a better idea for a surprise? Though the plans seemed promising, she still managed to snap out of the antlers' hypnosis.

"I'd like that werepony one." she told the shopkeeper, pointing at the fur.

"One day, three days, a week?" the shopkeeper asked, tilting her head left and right.

"Just for tonight."

"That'll be six bits."

Agate placed the payment on the counter, then returned her attention to the horns. She wanted them... and they wanted her. She couldn't resist, they were just too pretty. She took the ones that curled backwards, around her ears from behind.

"I'd also like these cuties." she chuckled, putting the accessories on the counter as well.

"Eleven bits, then." Gothica added with a giggle, while Agate gave in some more of her money. The earth pony took down the werepony costume, folded it and packed it into a larger bag, along with the horns.

"Thank you dear, and have a _freaky good night_." she advised with the last words again being long and spooky, after counting up the gold real quick.

"You too, Gothy." Agate chuckled as her horn charged and she lifted up her bag with the purple aura of her magic. The doorknob also received an aura of the same color as the wooden and old door opened once again.

 

~~~

 

Eventually, the stars and the full moon occupied the sky once more. A hard day's work, but Rarity had her little cart full of the most beautiful jewels she could find.

"Ponyville, finally." she said, with a yawn leaving her throat. "I can't wait to get into my warm, beautiful bed."

She was so close, yet still, it seemed so far. A howl was heard in a distance from behind the plains on her right. It came from the forest, most likely, nothing new. Though this night, they seemed to be pretty active, who knows, maybe because it was spring. Rarity was reminded of the creatures again and again. It didn't bother her much, until she heard something from the bushes from behind, on the left.

She looked there in an instant, but not a soul was seen, only the houses and the vegetation. She looked to her right, but only some of the empty field and the forest in the background was seen. Then the noise was heard again, from much closer this time.

"Somepony there?!" she said as her entire body turned back as a reaction. But she was more clever than that, and with a deep huff and frown she spoke up loud.

"Agate, I'd hate to burst your bubble but if you're trying to scare me it's not going to work." she shouted. No answer, but another rustling from a bush from just behind, with steps heard even. They didn't sound like hoofsteps however, and that slightly unnerved the unicorn.

"I know you're there, Agate, get out from that bush." she continued, but since she received no answer in seconds, she began strolling to the bush next to the small house. She leaned closer, and closer, then with a swift move she swept away the leaves to look inside, but nothing. But then, somepony... something touched her from behind.

It was not a pony's hoof for sure, too furry and strange, with something pointy picking against her coat on her shoulder. It was more like... a paw. Yet even before her mind could possibly process what creature the limb might have belonged to, the gentle touch turned into a powerful grab, taking away the seamstress and forcing her with face upwards on the ground.

Her throat let out a final scream from the top of her lungs, before hell broke loose.

"No! Please! No!" she yelled, trembling from fear as she covered her face from the monster she couldn't look at. Her heart was working overtime, and every bit of oxygen in her lungs was used up in her screams. It took a whole few seconds until she noticed the gentle, muffled giggles in the background. Only then she dared to lower her cover, peeking out from between her hooves.

"Agate!" she shouted, smashing her hooves to the ground by the side in fury. "This was a terrible move, even from you."

"Well I told you you'll get it back." the armorsmith chuckled.

"Yes I know, your plan was see-through like a new window," Rarity lashed back at her with a frown, that slowly turned into a small smile "but it was effective nonetheless."

The two mares were just laughing at the events, until Agate noticed the windows opening from her right, making Rarity turn there as well. They were being watched by six pairs of eyes, and one was someone whose Agate also recognized, Rose's. However, as soon as the two mares returned the eye contact, the flower ponies backed away as Rose closed the window with a pretty disturbed face.

Didn't took much for the two unicorns to realize they were in the same awkward position as yesterday, but with the tables turned of course. Agate hopped away real quick, and Rarity stood up on her fours in record time as well to prevent more witnesses.

They didn't dare to look in one another's eye for a few seconds until everything was fine and dandy.   
"We should try end up in this position less often." Rarity advised with quick and quiet words, Agate nodding and signing to get moving.

"Gothica's Nightmare Night costume, hmm?" Rarity chuckled in he signature, soft way, as her eyes stared up from the costume towards the beautiful moon danced around the countless stars. "You know, it has some truth in its symbolism, I mean this whole vampony and werepony business."

"Yeah, I also noticed, we seem very different, yet we both come from the same core. We both work in the same environment, and we both can't stand each other either." Agate laughed.

"Okay, let's make something clear." Rarity stopped in a sudden, breaking to joyful mood with her cold tone. "I might not agree with most of actions you do, nor decisions you make, but that, by far doesn't mean I hate you like a vampony hates a werepony." she added, as her cold voice turned warm and soothing in a sudden.   
"Believe or not, it is quite enjoyable working with you Aggy, it gives some color to these gray days." she told her with a lovely smile.

"Yeah, you know, I also think you're a really kind and wonderful pony inside, regardless that you enjoy doing the fancy stuff like those canterlotians." Agate said with her never sounding so sincere and grateful before.   
"Being with you is much like being with Fleur, Rares. I feel like someone is caring about me, and listens to me, it feels so nice." she added.

Seconds have passed, yet the two ponies stood still, smiling at each other, until suddenly - and for their own surprise - both mares let the exact same sentence out from the cage of their mouths: "Thank you."

"By the way, 'Aggy'?" the smith asked afterwards with a questioning look on her face, as she once again moved towards home.

"Why, I think it sounds charming." Rarity answered, returning the friendly smile. She let out a gasp when something she wanted to ask long before came up in her mind afterwards "Oh, by the way, how can one remove this dye?"

"Well, there has to be a way."

"Wait! You mean you don't know?!"


	7. A day off

"Miss Agate made significant progress since yesterday." Octavia told the unicorn, full of excitement as she took down the books from the shelf. They were the same first ten of the bottom row like yesterday.

"Really now? I'm all eager to see it." Rarity replied from the sofa next to them.

Agate stood up and with a charge of her horn she took over the first three of the paperbacks from the stack, engulfing them with her purple aura. She carefully placed them on the top of her head, then released it. Standstill. As the books stopped all kinds of movement and she was comfortable with the situation, she took a slow step forwards, then another, and another. Rarity was amused, she didn't expect her friend going this far in such short time. But now came the harder part, the turn. Agate hated this, the sharp turn to the left got her most of the times, the books always fell to the right sooner or later. She was extra careful this time, one limb after another with her head turning at a sloth's pace as well, then the small tower shaken itself. With a quick step to the right she fixed it and stood still for a few seconds again. The hardest part was over. All she needed now is to go straight past the arch that connected the room with the corridor and place the books on the small nightstand. One step after another, with her mind focused on absolutely nothing but the books she started her way to the nightstand. Slow, careful steps they were. Octavia was already full with pride of her, and Rarity's smile also shown her emotions. In the end, Agate arrived at the furniture and with a charge of her magic she placed her cargo on the destination. The run was perfect, and she was incredibly happy about it.

"Nah, Rares, how's that?" she told her ivory friend with a proud and challenging voice as she gazed over to the ivory one.

Rarity, of course saw the fire in those eyes. She decided not to refuse the challenge and put Agate in her place as she returned the wicked look with lowered eyelids.

"Not too shabby, darling, but let me show you how it is done." she replied, as her horn became surrounded by her signature blue aura. She stood up took up the rest of the pile, maybe six or seven books and placed them atop her head. Without any hesitation or waiting she started moving, with the tower on her being perfectly idle. She strolled as if there was nothing but her mane on her head, yet still as fast as if she'd just have a casual walk. Agate's eyes widened, especially when they saw the unicorn taking the turn like nothing. However, this was not the end by far. As Rarity walked towards her, the seamstress took a soft turn to the right and passed under the arch, making her way towards the craziest thing somepony could ever think of. As she turned from the small chicane, a subtle wink flirted with the armorsmith's eyes from between the red bearer of the arch and the bars of the stairs.

She was nuts, Agate thought. Such thing seemed impossible, yet the unicorn walked up the stairs in an ever so elegant manner. She couldn't believe it, she ran after her to see the rest. The tower didn't move significantly one way or another and Rarity climbed the stairs with no difficulty whatsoever. Then doing a 180 degree turn, she took the weigh off her head.

"So? What were you saying?" she told her as she set her beautiful purple curls back to their original place. Agate's mouth was still open, which made the unicorn burst out in a couple giggles as she made her way back.

"Miss Rarity's posture is perfect." Octavia complimented from the sofa with gentle claps she made.

"Thank you, dear, there are years of practice behind it." the ivory one replied as she nodded with her eyes shut, that opened wide again a second later "Since we can forget about the shopping plan for today, how about a day off in the Spa?"

"I'm sorry Miss Rarity, but I need practice for the upcoming symphony." Octavia denied polite as per usual. She already needed to redo her schedule because of Agate, she couldn't allow any more delays.

"Oh, that's a shame. How about you Agate?" Rarity asked, turning towards her other friend.

"Nah, spas are not my thing, only those broken-neck ponies who leak bits go there up in Canterlot. I'm having no money for that." Agate explained with a small frown as her eyes looked away. Rarity however knew her better, and could bet on her next collection that Agate didn't want it because she still insisted on not having any common ground with the ponies of Canterlot whatsoever. All she needed, was a gentle push from behind.

"Then be my guest for a hot bath." she invited her with a friendly smile on her face.

Agate was still hesitating, but it seemed as a good offer, considering it was... well, a hot bath. Not that weird body-beating, nor that awful soil with pickles, not that cabin, nothing of those outlandish things she saw in the catalogs, so what could go wrong?

A heavy sigh left her throat but she said what her friend wanted to hear "Alright, if its just a hot bath."

Rarity began chuckling behind her ivory muzzle, she knew exactly that its going to happen. Deep inside she knew there is a little bit of fascination inside her friend towards it, she didn't know for sure why, she just felt it.

"The spa it is, then. Well, see you later Miss Octavia." she added as their bassist friend seen them off.

"Bye Tavi." Agate added, as the waving pony closed the door behind them.

"Trust me, dear, you're going to love it." Rarity told her friend who was still quite skeptical about the whole thing. "By the way, it is going to be Spring Spa Weekend soon. I think with a weather like this it's going to be a huge success." she added in hope of motivating her friend.

"What day is it?" Agate asked in a bit of confusion as she didn't pay much attention lately, especially today when they woke up extremely late because of yesterday's little nighttime playing which resulted in Rarity not being able to wake up Sweetie Belle in time, which ended up in her sister being late from school.

"Friday." she replied as she stared at the ground. Rarity didn't really want to bring it up in her mind for she was quite ashamed of it. On the top of that, they spent the entire forenoon looking for a way to remove the artificial color from their mane and tail. Good thing their first stop was at Twilight's, though, otherwise they'd still be looking around.

The two mares fell into silence afterwards. It was planned so differently from what they were doing now, but it was late to mourn already when they woke up in the morning.

 

~~~

 

Rarity stopped in front of a strange blue building that looked more or less like a tent on the top. She entered the building with a joyful greeting along her friend, who also let a small 'Hello!' out but was more interested in what lied all round.

"It's much bigger than it looks from outside." she noted as her eyes examined the building, the beautiful plants, pillars, the tiny waterfall sculpture and decorations on the walls.

"Hmm... I'll be honest, I actually haven't noticed that." Rarity replied as she followed Agate in her crazy actions of behaving like she never ever was here before, up until a voice called her.

"Good Afternoon, Miss Rarity, the usual?" that voice asked, making both of them focus that way. It was a blue earth pony with a long, pink mane that was set backwards with a pretty white headband. She had a strange and very strong accent but not canterlotian, much more a northern-equestrian.

"Just a hot bath for two today, thank you." Rarity replied, making the mare's head make a gentle nod before she turned around to leave the counter. Agate noticed something pink from the corner of her eyes, but it disappeared as soon as she looked towards it.

"This way, Agate." the ivory one called, as she wrapped up a beautiful gold-white spa robe with her signature R letter, and giving a normal, purple one to her friend as well. The three mares headed into the spa section afterwards. Rarity was leading the way to a gigantic tube of water in the middle of a room, with a few beds around and an arch that was leading to a different room.

"It will take a bit of a time until the water warms up, but please make yourself comfortable. Let me know if there is anything I can help with." the blue mare behind them told them, rushing through a "Staff only" labeled door.

Rarity took down the robe, folded it, then placed them on the small platform as she folded it. Agate followed her steps up the stairs, however she just simply threw the robe down there.

The water wasn't that warm at all indeed, but they both knew it will change soon. In fact the rising of the heat was notable. The blue pony returned from the secret room.

"Just a few seconds." she said, trotting off. There was something oddly charming about her, actually, yet the smith couldn't really put her hoof on it. She just liked her.

After a while, the water started to steam from the heat, and the ivory one laid back with a pleasured moan escaping from her mouth.

"Ahh... isn't it wonderful?" she asked. It was time to relax and rest.

"You know, I think I could have made this tub of water boil faster." Agate replied.

"Could you now?" Rarity asked in a questioning manner. That was new to her and she became curious on what other things might her friend hide in her sleeves.

Agate nodded as her horn began to charge up. She began to work with enormous forces as her eyes shut and she began to groan with her teeth showing even.

"Okay, okay, I believe you." Rarity interrupted "I don't want to boil alive in here, you know." she told her. That, and she was also afraid something else could happen she preferred not to think about.

Agate turned around to get a look at the interior when 'she' appeared again. The pink one, who she saw before. She looked exactly like the skyblue pony but her coat being pink, while her mane being blue, instead of vice versa. Even the cutie mark was the same.

The unicorn moved to the side of the wooden pool to get a better look on the pony who were placing strange black stones on an amethyst unicorn that, strangely enough had the exact same manestyle as her. The sight was exciting her so much she began wagging her tail left and right, making small sweeps in the water.

Rarity noticed that naturally, and moved next to her to check on what must be it. Deep inside however, an emotion arose of a strong taste: Success.

"Those are lava stones, darling. Their heat helps the energy to circulate in the body as well as to relax the muscles." Rarity explained in whispers, hoping Agate gains more interest in the topic.

"I was actually looking at her." Agate whispered back, signing with her eyes towards the pink pony's direction to let Rarity know "She looks totally like the other girl, but colors swapped. Even their cutie mark is the same. It's so cool." she added in a way Rainbow Dash would have said.

The ivory one had a sudden urge to hit the wood her hoof was lying on at that moment with her head... possibly multiple times. But wait! This didn't necessarily meant complete failure. If she is interested in them maybe she will be interested in what they are doing.

"You know them?" the armorsmith asked, getting just even more excited.

"Well, she is Lotus... wait, no, she is Aloe. Uh, I tend to mix them up unfortunately." Rarity told her, as she tried to recall which one is which. It was not a very easy task if you were not their close friends, and she knew she was most likely not the only one with this problem.

"It's cool, thanks." Agate nodded as she turned to her friend with a smile. Rarity swam back to her own territory and laid back to relax. Agate also swapped to a more comfortable position.

"The shops are open tomorrow in Canterlot, right?" Rarity asked, changing the topic to one more at hooves.

"Yeah, they're usually open on Saturdays as well." Agate replied, confusion reflecting from her face.

"I was thinking, if I could travel there with the last train I could get there tomorrow morning and still save the plan we worked out." the ivory coated told her. They were either saving or losing a lot of time with this decision, much like having a sixteen in Blackjack.

"No Rares, no need to push yourself so hard. A weekend is a big delay, we can make up time after we took some rest." Agate replied, almost in an ordering voice.

"Do you realize that we are half at the time limit and we have done nothing so far?" Rarity responded in that intimidating, angered manner Agate usually tried to avoid hearing. There was something in it that made her get back into her turtle-shell.

"Okay, if you insist. So you get the fabric and the furry stuff there and I get the other little accessories and all that around here." Agate recited their plot, Rarity nodding in response. The mustard coated sighed up "Not a five-minute walk... It's going to be a good chance to get familiar with Ponyville at least."

As the blue coated pony appeared, on her way towards the staff room again, Agate quickly turned around and started waving her hoof and tail for her attention.

The earth pony of course trotted there with a kind smile "May I help you?"

"You're Aloe right?" the unicorn asked.

"Lotus, actually, my sister is Aloe." she giggled in an bit of an embarrassed manner.

"Do you know what is this Spring Spa Weekend about?" Agate asked, but was interrupted by the mare behind.

"Agate, don't chit-chat around with Miss Lotus, she is busy." she told her off, turning towards Lotus "I'm sorry for the interruption."

"It's alright Miss Rarity." she smiled back, turning to Agate again. "During Spring Spa Weekend, spas take most their equipments out into the nature to celebrate the way it refreshes after winter. We'll be providing services in the Ponyville park the next two days." she explained.

"Neat, thanks much."

"Anything else I can help you with?" she asked, both of them shaking their heads as a response.

Rarity looked quite angry hearing this. "Agate, are you planning on going while I'm away by any chance?" She didn't fully trust her newfound partner yet, which was reasonable at this point. Getting the trust of hers was a real challenge, for ones more than for others.

"What? No of course, I was just... wondering." the other unicorn replied, but it was not satisfactory to the seamstress in the least. She stood up and took her way to the stairs. Her hooves were all pruney so it was time to get out the water anyway. Agate followed her once again as they dried themselves, then wrapped the robes around that soaked in the rest of water with time.

"So, how was the hot bath?" she asked with a tiny grin, though knowing Agate, she didn't set her hopes too high about the answer.

"Like... a hot bath?" Agate responded with a questioning look. "I don't know, Rares, I still feel a bit... strange. As in, I feel no different than before.".

"This might be the case, but believe me your skin just loved all those minerals." the other one responded. As the unicorns returned to the counter they gave back Lotus the robes and Rarity paid up for the service, with some tips, of course.

"Thank you girls." said the unicorn as she opened the door with her magic.

"You're welcome Miss Rarity, please come again." Lotus and Aloe replied together, much for the armorsmith's fascination. They gave off this strange, warm charm from them, and the smith liked that a lot.

 

~~~

 

"Sweetie, we're home." Rarity shouted as she opened the door of her boutique. She didn't waste any time and ran upstairs to pack a few things for her journey. Agate, on the way, looked inside the filly's room in case she was there. A small, moaning blob of white welcomed her.

"Hey, Sweetie." she told her, receiving another moan muffled by a pillow. The filly was still under the weather.

"Did Cheers smack you upside the head?" she asked with a tiny giggle. If it would have been her she would have most likely forget about it already.

"Mhmm..."

"It can happen with everypony, trust me." Agate said patting the little pony on her back "I for one got kicked from Celestia's school."

Hearing that, Sweetie Belle crawled a bit further under her pillow, popping her head up the other side with the answer "Really?"

"Yeah, I got to go to Canterlot Primary afterwards. I think it was slightly better there, even." the mare laughed "Look. Bad things happen, learn from it and forget, that's all."

"Agate, where did you go now?" Rarity called from outside, in response Agate just screamed "Coming." and with a last smile left Sweetie.

Rarity was ready to leave and already headed downstairs when the other one opened the door in front of her. Rarity was only carrying a pretty reticule with her this time with all the important things she needed inside.

"Alright, I'm going, will be back tomorrow afternoon I think. Watch for Sweetie please." she rambled in hurry. There was no time to lose, and the seamstress was determined as ever to complete this task. Once Rarity set her mind to something she was holding to it with tooth and nails.

"Wait!" Agate yelled, rushing into the bedroom. Several seconds later that seemed an eternity did she just return, throwing something to her partner in a large arc.

"The keys for the workshop, there might be some mess but nothing catastrophic." she added, as the ivory mistress caught the object with a confused look. They key was on a keychain alongside with a small purple stone of a tear shape and many various shades scattered across it.

"Thanks." Rarity replied as she dropped the key into her bag and got going with a final farewell.

Agate still had one last thing to do, for it was laying on the ground as she entered the bedroom: she needed to bring back the werepony costume for Gothica. She packed it back into the bag she received it in as well as her purse and hurried out.

"I'll bring these back, will come later." she shouted as she trotted down the stairs. The keys to the boutique were still in the door, seemed Rarity left them there so they could find it with ease. Agate closed the shop, turning the little sign, thus letting everypony else also know about it and trotted to the building she now knew the exact way towards.

It didn't take long until she found it, and now she went up the stairs and entered with much more confidence. Though, in contradiction, the falling dolls scared her even more than the last time. Another one to the list of scared ponies, which Gothica was happy to add. She handled her business in a few minutes and was to return home on a little bit different route this time, for the sake of practice.

The Sun was soon to disappear from the horizon once again, as the unicorn was cantering on a street she never walked on before, as long as a very familiar building with odd blue top caught her attention. It was the spa again. She stopped for a second and took a closer look, to notice the small sign on the door still said "Open". The small stand on the side shown a more accurate information, however. She was hesitating, yet for a strange, unknown reason something was luring her towards the building. She brought her wallet, and that wasn't in the favor of going on forwards, as the growing curiosity took over her body. Curiosity that even she couldn't explain.

She entered the spa once again...

 

~~~

 

"How long?"

"Just roughly thirty minutes, it'll be over soon."

Then, when they'd have call it a day, the door opened.

"Hello?" a voice was heard coming from a very familiar unicorn.

"Ah, Miss Rarity's friend, Good Afternoon." Lotus greeted with a warm smile.

"Hello Miss Lotus and Miss Aloe." Agate said as she started playing with the tip of her front hooves. The sight of the twins both in front of her got her pumping, in her mind she was already screaming and squealing on the top of her lungs.

'Oh my God that's so awesome.'

"How may we help you?" Aloe asked. Her voice was very similar to her sister's but of a higher pitch.

"Yes, you know Aloe this afternoon I saw you doing that thing with the black stones, can I try that too?" she asked, having more and more trouble controlling herself. There was something in that two that hyped her up, if anything, twins were her weaknesses.

"The Lavastone Massage? Of course." Aloe replied with the same adorable smile. It wasn't anything new to her that they don't know the name of this therapy.

"That'll be fifteen bits, madam." Lotus added from the side, from behind the counter.

"Fif... teen? Or fifty? I think I heard only fifteen but was it fifty?" the unicorn blabbered in absolute confusion.

The skyblue one repeated slowly "Fifteen miss.".

Agate was shocked. In Canterlot, spas are extremely expensive, even if we take in that everything costs more in a capital. Yet still, such difference hit her below the belt. She took out her wallet and paid right up in front.

Lotus gave her a robe which Aloe helped in her putting on, despite she didn't require it.

"Please follow me Miss..."

"Agate."

The two ponies headed back to the main room Agate knew all too well, but this time she was the one laying on the bed instead. The spa was completely empty, which was not a surprise at this time of the day.

"Just lay down comfortably while I prepare the stones." Aloe told her in a lovely and soothing voice, as she trotted off for the other side of the room, and came back with a rolling stand that was a bit similar to a barbecue stand, only with smooth, shiny jet black stones instead of coal. She took out one and placed it on the top of the laying mare's spine, just below her neck, to which she responded with a small hiss.

"It might be hot at first but will cool down a bit later." Aloe calmed her as she placed another stone a little bit below. Agate - though the feeling give her the urge - resisted to turn around, after all, it would mess up everything. The stones began to cool down after long seconds, and as Aloe laid down another one she started to get used to the feeling.

"I've never been to spas, you know. It feels weird." Agate explained as another stone was put on top of her.

"First time experience is always unique." Aloe chuckled as she warmed up her hooves by two stones "Now, we'll begin the actual massage part." she added, as she began rubbing her hot hooves against the upper back of her client. "Well? How does it feel?"

"H-hurts." the other one replied in a painful whisper, making Aloe lower the pressure against her.

"Better?" she asked for feedback once again, as her hooves made circular motions on Agate's back.

"Yes." Agate replied, though her voice still gave the impression it was uncomfortable, it just simply felt foreign.

"Just relax, Miss Agate." the beautician told in a calm manner, as she changed to wider and longer movements back and forth on the unicorn. Agate started to enjoy it after all, her body was finally able to let loose and from all that warmth, it felt a little bit numb as well.

After some time, Aloe let loose of the pressure as a whole and took out the two small stones. Considering her client's lack of knowledge and that it worked so far in the relaxation she explained this step of the process as well.

"Now I'm going to massage your sides with the stones." she said with the same deep and calm, almost seducing way she did before. She pressed the two hot objects against the mare's left shoulders, with small motions to left and right, rather than in circles. She proceeded to the right with the process, to the so called barrel, and the flank afterwards. It felt so incredibly good, Agate began to let out tiny little moans behind her mouth.

"How does it feel?" Aloe asked again, as she passed behind the unicorn to repeat the process from the other side.

"So good..." Agate moaned out of sheer pleasure. "I can see why Rarity wanted to show me this place. She comes here often, right?" she asked. If Rarity was here often than they could hang out much more together, and they could also have something in common to talk about.

Aloe began chuckling a little once again "Miss Rarity is our VIP customer, she indeed comes here frequently.".

'That explains the custom robe.'

Agate began giggling as well "I wonder what she'd think if she'd find me here in a sudden."

Both mares kept on laughing as the little Aloe returned to her lava stones and put the ones she held back into where they belonged.

"A little bit more on the back and we're done." she explained, as she did exactly what she stated, rubbing her hooves at Agate's back up- and downwards, making her let out even more little moans.

"So you're twins with Lotus, hm? I wish I would have a counterpart like that." the mare said to keep up the conversation.

"Actually, we're just sisters, but it's great to have her indeed." Aloe replied as she once again let go of her client, picking and stashing the now cold stones from her body. As soon as Agate could she stood up from the bed when something odd caught her attention.

"Well? How does it feel like, Miss Agate?" Aloe asked.

Agate however, just kept moving her right front limb back and forth, as she'd try to toss away something in front of her.

"How?" she asked back, as she began waving her other hoof to the left and right, sweeping it across the ground "How did you do that?"

Aloe looked confused in a sudden, as Agate did a few small hops then turned her neck left and right.

"They move so easily, how did you do that?" she repeated once again, but now that Aloe knew the answer, a satisfied smile grew on her face.

"A massage helps in relaxing the muscles and releasing all the pent-up tension inside. Miss Agate had a lot tension in her back, it must have felt stiff, hmm?"

"This is amazing!" Agate shouted in joy "Aloe you're a miracle! Thank you so much!" she added as she hugged the earth pony out of the blue as a sneak attack. Even though it was a bit of awkward, her sincere laughter made the beautician proud of her work, for that was her job and nothing felt better than giving somepony a life-changing experience.

"Oh my gosh, there are so much stuff." she said, her eyes popping open and looking around but her body not letting go of her heroine yet. With a sudden gasp she made her decision "Can I try the steam-cabin-like-thingy next?"

Aloe awkwardly glanced over at Lotus, who peeked at the clock. There was still about fifteen minutes left before closing, so a quick sauna was in the limit.

"Sure, but that'll be ten bits plus." Aloe told her with a warm smile.

"Mind if I pay afterwards? So we wouldn't need to run back and forth." Agate asked, letting go of Aloe who shook her head after some hesitation.

"This way please." she said, leading the excited unicorn to the other room. A huge wooden hut was in the left side, just right after the arch, while two smaller pools filled with a mud was on the right. Aloe opened the door to the sauna, where everything was made of wood, the walls and the benches that made up an U-shape, as well as a large holder filled with water and stones.

Aloe turned on the heating device that was masked by the wooden box, to get the water with the rocks boiling, while she took a bucket on the side and ran to get some water, returning a few seconds later.

She dropped the bucket of water on the bench as she started explaining the system "The sauna cleanse the pores of your skin and-"

The interruption was caused by her sister, who gently signed that she'd need her help with a bit of poking.

"I must leave for a little, Miss Agate, excuse me." Aloe said. She raised the ladle to take a bit of water she poured on the hot rocks, creating an huge smokescreen of a magician, disappearing along her sister after it settled.

"Oh, mane, that's pretty warm here." Agate marked, but as far as she knew this was the point of it. The heat kept rising, however, eventually making her lie down. After all, she was the only one there. It just got hotter and hotter, she was starting to wonder when it is going to be too much.

 

~~~

 

Meanwhile, in the staff's room, or better said, basement, bad news were being discussed.

"So it won't arrive until next week?" Aloe asked in frightened tone.

Lotus sighed, her tone indicated that she was to tear up "No, unfortunately. Wish I've had saw this coming and ordered more."

"Then... what are going to do?" Aloe asked, trembling from fear, as it would be an apocalyptic situation. Maybe it even was.

Lotus strengthened her soul and replied with confidence "Okay, we won't take the pool then, hopefully it won't be a big loss." however, her confidence didn't last too long as she sighed up from the fear of what the close future might bring. "Look, let's clear our minds with a seance and discuss it meanwhile."

Aloe hummed and nodded, her innocence and fright reflecting in her eyes. She took a last look back, before the sisters left the furnace and the empty shells with the 'Fire Crystals' labels.

Agate started to grow uncomfortable in the sauna, especially with that irritating fly landing on her from time to time, trying to disrupt her sleep. But not this time though, as she whipped her tail hard and fast by natural reaction to hit the drop of sweat on her flank, effectively knocking down the bucket, which's cold contents poured all into the hot stone-soup.

 

~~~

 

Lotus took the matches from the cupboard, as well as flipping the sign on the door with a skilled move of her tail. In the meanwhile Aloe prepared all the incense, long candles in a spiral form of wax, with a material inside that released a mesmerising smell when burned. She laid them down one by one on the platform around the pool, while her sister lit them. After all candles were lit, Lotus turned down the lights with a click. The result was simply astonishing, the sight, the smell and the sounds of the water created such a powerful atmosphere that could cleanse the mind and body from all the stress, resulting in calmness and better, more rational thinking, something the two ponies needed desperately.

Lotus stepped into the pool, her sister afterwards, not making a simple ripple on its surface. Though the water wasn't as warm as usual, it was not cold either. The two girls took a deep breath together, held it for a few seconds and exhaled, again, together.

"Do you think the crystals can arrive next Monday?" Aloe asked in almost whispers.

"I can only hope, we can't use neither the pool nor the sauna until then." Lotus replied.

"I'm scared, sister." Aloe told her as she moved closer, giving a hug to Lotus to help calm her shivering little soul down.

"It's going to be fine. Who knows, maybe the ponies will enjoy a cold pool more." the blue one whispered back as she curled her hooves softly around Aloe, stroking her mane downwards with her hooves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Hot, hot, hot, HOT!!" a scream broke the silence as a second later, a mustard coated unicorn rushed in from behind the ark. Her body was steaming as she was literally sliding in on her sweating hooves. Without any thinking, moreover, before anypony could even have the chance to think, the only thing the two sisters saw is the mare charging towards them. She sprinted a few slippery steps then jumped, landing in the pool with a semi-belly jump. Agate's little stunt created a wave large enough to soak the beauticians' face as well as knock over or down the only light sources in the room. As Lotus and Aloe opened their eyes again, along with Agate emerging from below only one thing was welcoming their vision: complete darkness.

The armorsmith was the first to talk "Oops! Wait, I can help.". Thus, she began forcing all the power she had into her horn, that dimly lit in a purple way at first, but then began to send tiny sparks in the air.

"Hnnnnngg!". Agate's teeth seemed as they could crack in any second from the force, as the rims of her horn began glowing with an orange color, lighting up the room once again, like a candle. The orange light illuminated the hall much more than her regular, purple magic.

The girls knew she can't hold it for long and jumped out from the tub to collect the incense once again, quickly drying them with the end with their mane. Lotus brought over hers to Agate fast and held the end of the candle close to the horn so hot now, it turned from orange to almost pure white, lighting the stick up once again. Right afterwards, the unicorn's horn went dead, Agate let out a powerful exhale as she rested her head against the wood with heavy breathing. The two sisters traded flames multiple times as they restored the seance, however only afterwards did Aloe notice the steam the water let go of.

"Miss Agate, I'm sorry but we're closed." Lotus told her in a rather angered manner, as she took a dip into the water. Much to her surprise, it was very hot.

"It's my fault sister, I'm the one who forgot about her." Aloe interrupted to take the responsibility for her actions.

"No, it's my bad girls." Agate added as she shaded the rims of her eyes "Seems like I'm making more trouble than good. I guess it's time for me to leave."

"Not at all, Miss Agate. Please stay!" Aloe shouted, turning to her sister on the right, whispering something in her ears, which Lotus replied with similar whispers.

"Miss Agate..." Lotus said in a slightly different and innocent tone "We'd like to ask you a small favor if it is possible."

"We're on shortage of fire crystals, which we use for heat source. However, we need them badly for the outside pool in the Spring Spa Weekend otherwise our losses could be huge." Aloe explained, her voice and eyes looking at possibly the only hope they had left: Agate. "Could you help us with your magic in keeping the pool warm? We could not thank enough."

"Oh girls." Agate moaned like a fangirl, as she swam to the two other pony "Of course I can help. You made my body feel like new, this is the least I can do." she explained, grateful as ever.

"Thank you very much." the earth ponies shouted in joy, as their hooves emerged from the water facing against one another.

"One more thing." Lotus added "Could you please keep what you have seen a secret?"

"Rarity and I get into such misleading poses all the time, I know how you feel." Agate laughed, with the two other ponies joining later.

Eventually, Agate rested her head against the wood next to Aloe as well. The smell of the burning incense was so very relaxing, she felt like in Heaven at that moment. She let yet another deep moan leave her throat before starting a bit of a chit-chat with the most adorable pair of girls she ever met.


	8. Independence: Rarity

The steam-driven machine cut through the dark night like a knife through butter, a pair of azure eyes staring out into the void from one of its many windows. The moon gave just enough light to show the scenery around, without too much colors. Little dots of light were seen in the desert far, far away. Rarity should have been asleep by now, but the facts that it was a train's bed under her, plus that the train arrived to Canterlot in the middle of the night didn't let her. She dug inside her bag once again, taking out a purple jewel and a key then staring at it for long seconds...

It was not just a key, it was Agate's sign of trust... or maybe her sign of recklessness?

 _'Maybe she just...'_  the unicorn thought, but rather sighed up instead of finishing. It was so hard to decide in this situation.

 _'No, Rarity! Agate trusts you with her home, you should trust her equally.'_  she replied, as in her mind, a tiny breezie Rarity with beautiful transparent wings and a bright halo appeared.

 _'Or... She was just plain stupid, that's all. She didn't think forehoof and just slapped her keys at you despite only knowing each other for a week.'_  another Rarity appeared with vicious devil horns and bat-like black and red wings.

_'Because she trusts you with no hesitation, she believes in you.'_

_'No, she's just an idiot and you know it.'_

"Oh shut up." the unicorn groaned in herself as she put the key back and smashed her head against the pillow. She was going to sleep, now, whether she wanted or not.

However, this time the sound of the train irritated her, no matter how much she twisted and turned. Eventually, she gave up. The unicorn laid down the pillow back to its original position and rolled away the curtains by her side to take a walk in the middle of the darkness. What she heard, though, came as a completely unexpected surprise.

"Hi Rares!" a voice greeted from behind, echoing through the narrow corridor. Rarity turned back in slow-motion, but her eyes did not deceive her.

"Agate! What are you doing here?" Rarity asked. Complete and utter confusion filled her mind. When did the other unicorn even sneak up the first place?

"Ah, nothing, just checking up on you to see if you're alright and stuff." the other one replied with her signature uncaring manner.

"Shouldn't you be getting the materials?" Rarity asked in confusion.

"Umm, what materials again?" Agate asked back, with an awkward, silly grin on her face.

Rarity couldn't believe it, there was no way somepony could be this narrow-minded. "The dress. The dress! We even made a list for it remember?!" she said, placing her hooves on her partner's shoulders in a worried manner, that Agate immediately knocked off a second later.

"Oh yeah, I get it now!" Agate replied, Rarity nodding with an awkward grin at her. "I gotta get back to it, then." she turned around trotting down the narrow corridor towards the exit cabin of gray cold steel.

"See you later." she added, as she opened the heavy steel door of the machine.

"Wait! Not while the-" but Rarity was too late, as Agate jumped out the moving train and disappeared. The unicorn looked out to see if her friend is alright, but Agate was nowhere to be found on the endless cobweb of rails, no matter how long she looked for her. She kept looking left, and right, under the rails, but nothing, absolutely nothing. She shut the door and gave in, Agate was gone. She returned to her cabin, it's red walls and curtains still completely dark, climbing into her bed at a snail's pace, and collapsing on it's soft sheets. Yet, she couldn't shed a tear, they simply didn't came for some reason. She took a final peak out the window, but she saw her nowhere still, the only thing she saw were rails and headlights. Bizarre.

The train was slowing down, more and more rapidly, as Rarity started to believe something is very, very wrong here. When the train stopped, from atop the headlights in a distance, huge clouds of steam erupted. At that moment, Rarity was taken over by panic. She got the curtains of the other, empty bed next to her out of her way, just to see exactly the same thing. Every second rail, another train was coming at her. She rushed to the exit, suffering to open it, but it didn't move. She began to beat the steel with all her might and power, but no use. She hurried back to her bed to see if she can get away through the window, but the glass refused to break as well no matter how hard she punched it. There was no way out from here, the teeth of a gigantic mechanical shark approached at a rapid speed, ready to crush the train into pieces. They came closer, and closer, and Rarity could do nothing, but stare out the window, her hooves pushing against its surface. As the headlight of the trains lit up the entire wagon the machines let a collective whistle of massacre out, making the seamstress attempt to scream as loud as she could, but only some hot air came out from her little throat.

Then, the trains began to glow with a light blue aura, as they literally jumped up in a sudden like dolphins, over the one their victim trapped in, creating an enormous ark with their centipede bodies. Rarity just stared at the marvelous dance of the steel for long seconds, until the arks dissolved and the trains torn away with the speed they came. Rarity had no idea what happened, all she knew that she survived. In a sudden, a blue face came into her vision from the right side of the window, a face of a friend's, winking and smiling beneath the flowing mane full of stars.

"Princess Luna!" she shouted in surprise and relief.

"Greetings, Rarity!" the alicorn replied "I heard your cries and hurried to interfere, luckily I was just in time."

"Is Agate alright?". Immediately afterwards she thought of herself as a complete idiot for asking it. Even though Rarity knew it was a dream, for some unknown reason she asked a question that she otherwise wouldn't.

"Yes, she is perfectly safe. However, something else about her is not." Luna told her. Rarity knew exactly what the princess was talking about, and she became ashamed for it a little.

"Your fear of the unknown and worries about your situation is completely understandable, but your trust is just a half-built house of cards." Luna explained, speaking through the glass that separated them. Her voice deep and her thoughts wise, no wonder she was a princess.

"Unfortunately this is something I cannot help you with, for you are a prisoner of your own mind." she added, shutting her deep blue eyes away from the unicorn. Rarity started to understand her now. The train was her mind, and the other ones were the stress ready to rip it apart. The doubts rampaging in her mind left her unable to escape.

"I see now..." she whispered, hiding her azure rims beneath her eyelids, taking a deep breath. "Everything will be fine. Agate counts on me and I count on her. She can do it... She will do it, I know." she said aloud, as her eyes opened up once again with a gentle smile forming on her face. Luna was smiling back at her, the seamstress did well overcoming her current doubts. She carefully placed her hooves on the window once more, applying a little pressure as the glass just fell out, bouncing a bit on the ground but not breaking still. She didn't waste any time and hopped out from the cabin.

"Your dream must end here, Rarity, your train arrives to Canterlot in mere minutes." The princess of the night told in a strict voice, putting her manners aside for a little.

A wave of panic washed over the unicorn out of the blue "Oh dear, but... how do I wake up?"

"Close your eyes, I'm going to count back and open them immediately at zero." Luna answered, a trick of hers that worked most of the time during lucid dreaming. Rarity forced her eyes shut faster than lightning, taking large inhales to calm herself.

"Three... Two... One..."

Rarity's eyes popped open. Darkness. She tilted her head to the left, seeing many little wisps of light outside, with the beautiful moon gazing over her face. She was so relieved, she felt as if she could just lie there for a couple of more minutes, until her body finally finds peace. But in a sudden the fireflies and the moon disappeared behind huge buildings and street lamps. There was no time to lose, Rarity got up on her fours, when an awful feeling struck her hooves, like if she was walking on needles. Her limbs were numb from the sleep paralysis, but in no way she let such thing stop her. She took the reticule and hung it around her neck and right front hoof, then headed to the exit next to her. It was so close, but in this awful condition, it seemed like eternity. One ant-covered step after another, and over time she made her way to the door. She didn't bother to make things worse by opening it with a hoof, so she used the magic lying in her horn to do so. The train already began to slow down, and Rarity knew well that the more she uses her leg, the faster the blood will begin to circulate there and sooner she can get to bed. So while waiting, she made a couple of steps and other movements in all directions, raising and lowering her hooves to awaken them once again.

The train was going really slow now, and was traveling its last few meters, when the door opened in a sudden, revealing a gray mare with a jet black mane and soul-piercing red eyes. Even though she was wearing her mane in a bobcut this time, her grumpy look, despite the wrinkles, told her who she was, the girl who Agate referred to as Fury Nancy. It seems she was too tired to wreck any more havoc, though, and simply opened the door to Rarity.

Canterlot was a different place at night altogether. Looking at her right, she saw that only three more mares were traveling on the train. How odd, the station that was usually crowded was almost completely empty now. This was a fresh but oddly exciting experience for the seamstress, but she had little time to discover it in a whole. The huge clock above her just hit quarter past one, and seeing that just made her sleepiness come out from its hideout in yawns.

As she left the facility she found herself on the streets she recognized, but they all looked so much different at night. She knew exactly where to go now, and for some reason, she looked forwards to seeing what the road looks like under the lights of the lamps.  
Though the air and concrete was considerably colder than what she was used to, thus the unicorn further increased her pacing, until a shield-shaped sign with a hammer, an anvil and a gem blinked up, its golden frame reflecting the light of the lamps on the main street. Rarity unzipped her bag and dug deep into it to find the key, which she immediately dropped as it slip out from her hoof, right on a cover of a man-hole. Rarity's heart began pounding as the heavy jewel bounced closer and closer to the small hole in the middle of the steel. She charged up her horn as her mouth let a gasp, or more of a scream escape, as the unicorn grabbed the key within the last moment, before it could have slid and fall into oblivion.

An exhale of relief, and Rarity put the object where it belonged, twisted it and entered the workshop. The darkness however, made it pretty hard to locate anything, so the first thing she did was trying to find was a switch to the light. She started to blindly grope for some bump in the wall, and in few seconds she found it already. A click, and the room lit up. Wooden furniture, shelves, tables, wardrobes, a mirror and a neat little rug was found inside the dirty-white room, in a very similar layout that Fluttershy's cottage has, everthing on the side, and only a rug in the middle. There was no mess of any shorts Agate talked about, so the unicorn locked the door and looked for it upstairs, without any findings in Agate's bedroom either, aside the bed which's sheets and pillows were all over the furniture. The room itself was quite small and basic, stripped from all fancy decorations that were the default in Canterlot. Despite that, they fit well with the dark green color on the walls. It had its own atmosphere. But going to sleep without taking a bath? After those dirty, public sheets on the train Celestia knows who used? No way.

She put down her bag and headed out the bedroom and looked for a bathroom, but since there was nothing else to see upstairs, she strolled down to the hall again. The door in front lead her outside again, the door to her left was the kitchen for sure, as the glass was completely see-through, so the only possibilities were the doors behind her, leading into most likely small rooms as they were under the staircase. One had a jittery glass making it hard to tell exactly what exactly it contained, while the other had no glass at all, just the white wood. Going with her natural instincts, the unicorn entered the first one.

This room had blue as it's main color as the shiny tiles covered its inside as a whole. It was, a small and simple shower, as well as the mirrors, cupboards and all necessities on the other side, as well as a door to an even smaller toilet room.

Rarity's eyes twitched a little, for the entire thing had more of an old dormitory feeling to it, than one of a sweet home's. That, and she always preferred baths than showers. For this one night, she endured it, mainly because she wanted to go to sleep so bad already. She stepped in, pulled the curtain and opened the shower for a rapid cleaning. Rapid for it didn't take two minutes but the seamstress already grabbed the towel as the noise of the water came to halt. She dried herself, hung the towel back on its place, walked up and without any more messing around she jumped into the bed and shut the lights to finally get some more sleep.

 

~~~

 

Soon afterwards, the black of her sight became an irritating orange, accompanied with a burning feeling. Rarity couldn't help but force her eyes open. It was morning.

"No. Please." Rarity groaned in a misable manner, as she took the pillow and used it as a shield. But now, she could not breathe properly. In her frustration she let out an audible groan as the unicorn threw away the pillow that rolled down the other side. Times like these, Celestia just seemed so cruel for doing her duties. Her horn charged up with her signature blue aura while suffering down from the bed, putting the sheets and the pillow back to their places. Just finishing Agate's job.

She yawned once more, and took a close look at the old cuckoo clock in front of her, only to have herself reminded by its odd numbers, that it stopped. She looked left and right until she found the smaller, working clock she saw last night somewhere around. It was just there on the shelf from almost behind her, telling it was nine 'o clock.

"Nine already?" Rarity screamed in panic. She overslept... a lot. No time to lose now, she wanted to get into the shops without actual waiting, but this most likely wasn't possible anymore.

Rarity took her belongings, rushed down into the bathroom again, and brushed her teeth while saving time by brushing her mane as well. She was fine with the imperfect curls this time, as it was still better than the birds' nest her mane was before. After all that was done she hurried out to have all those minutes being wasted away by the strong wind.

"Great, now this too." she mumbled, as she made her way towards her first stop, a textile shop located in the southern part of the capital.

The unicorn kept on making wild calculations in her head, always revising them again and again. The anxiety get the best out of her once more, as she tried to make up time any way she could possibly can. Her despair were clear in her eyes. With time, she arrived to the brocade shop, and by sheer luck, there were not many costumers. Before entering however, Rarity noticed two numbers in the little white plastic filled the opening and closing times for each day. Since it was the weekend, the shop was only open for mere four hours, instead of the usual eight. This was just oil on the fire, but she'd rather not be nervous about that, it'd affect her decision making abilities negatively.

"Good morning." she stepped inside with a cheerful greeting. The shop looked like an average house in Canterlot would do, clear, marble floor, beautiful red, orange and pink silk adornments arching over the room, with shelves full of beautifully ordered textile in various shapes and colors.

"Morning madam, how may I help you?" a pony replied from behind the counter. Her royal blue mane was smooth as silk, her off-white face adorned by a few freckles under her eyes. A small measure tape curled itself around the neck of her model body. She looked gorgeous, but Rarity fast terminated any thoughts of envy and got straight to the point as she took her papers.

"Let's see, I'd like some smooth red fabric I'll need for a dress I make." she explained, her mouth moving quicker than ever. She actually knew the mare a little bit, for she always, always bought her materials from here.

The other unicorn hummed a little, scratching her jaw a little as she peeked back to the storage room behind. "Smooth... a second madam, I might have a few more in the back. Darker or lighter kind of red?"

"Scarlet red would be best, thank you." her costumer responded, waiting and trying to be patient until the job was done. But still, Rarity just couldn't help but clop her hooves at the ground. She knew the process well enough, for she was here quite a few times by now. They gathered every fabric made from all kinds of fibers in question and compared then next to each other. Suddenly, the voice of the salesmare was heard from afar.

"We have red from velveteen fibers."

"That's nice."

"We have some sylvia."

"Yes please."

"Satin."

"Hmm... too fragile, no."

"Tiora."

"No."

"Carbon."

"Oh, dear, no."

"We have floque de lux but it's more of a shade of ruby."

"Ruby is fine too."

A little pause later the unicorn reappeared, carrying the three rolls of red fabric, all of them looking almost identical. But Rarity knew the differences were huge in most aspects, for her at least. She gave all rolls a good touch with her hooves, a careful, close look with her eyes, over and over, looking for strengths and weaknesses. All of them seemed suitable of the job, but only one of them could win.

"I'll take the sylvia." the seamstress said the final verdict. "The whole roll, please." she added, noticing the amount of material on the roll. The shopkeeper nodded and with the help of her magic she sealed it with a blue ribbon.

"Mind if I ask if all shops are closing earlier today?" Rarity asked meanwhile, her voice having the aftertaste of a bit of worry.

"Yes, madam, shops usually work half-time today."

At that moment, the lightning of panic hit Rarity, burning through her veins top to bottom. This meant that she had less then mere three hours left to get everything. Yet nothing was seen about this in the outside  
"Here is the sylvia, it'll be seventeen bits, madam." the other mare told her, laying down the clothes on the side. Rarity paid up with no sign of horror, she even let a little smile grew on her face while leaving... but she was longing for the sensation of her soft, red couch inside.

 

~~~

 

The weather wasn't in the favor of the ivory mistress either, so the best thing she could do right now is to head back to Agate's workshop, and use it as warehouse until the time comes. She laid down the fabric on the sofa with her magical powers, and turned around for the duration of a few steps and closed the door, locking it with the key she didn't let go of ever since opening and coming back again.

"Alright, fabric down, now the fur." she told to herself, her mind already drawing the little map as its eye projected the transparent image in front of the seamstress. She put the key away and followed her instincts.

A familiar voice from behind interfered with her focus, however, deep and warm. It was no doubt her again.

"Miss Rarity." Fleur called her, taking her beautiful pink scarf out of her way, and jumping into the bottom with no hesitation "If you are here I fear the worst have happened."

Great, that was the only thing Rarity wanted to hear now. Yet deep in her mind she challenged the model to try her, if she can top all the bad events happened today. Outside, on the other hand, she remained silent, her ears set for any information coming.

"I sent you a letter this morning, but it seems I have to inform you personally." she continued. Rarity could not wait anymore, she was on the edge to ask her to get to the point.

"It's about Fancy Pants. The judge of Canterlot drew back from his position due to a disease, and apparently Fancy took her place." Fleur explained. "I'm having an awful feeling about this."

Rarity got the point of the beautiful mare, yet something seemed... off. Fancy Pants would never sabotate the contests just for pure hatred, especially if a friend like her would have been a victim as well... or would he? After all, Fleur knew him much better, and if she was feeling wrong about this it sure was for a reason. That thought made the parasite that was fear make a nest in her mind, regardless of all logic.

"Thank you, Miss Fleur." Rarity replied, as the wind blew ruthlessly once again, taking the accessory of the unicorn diva with itself. She grabbed it before it could have gone too far with a shot of her magic, giving it back to its owner, who wrapped it around her neck once more.

"Thank you very much Miss Rarity, I should go back before my mane gets even messier." Fleur told her in a voice as if her life would have depend on her mane. "Farewell."

"Goodbye." Rarity replied, watching the mare hurry to a safe spot where the wind did not blow. Now that this was out of her way she could get back to shopping.

 

~~~

 

Arriving at the Fur and Wool, a store lot smaller than the other one she noticed how others start to visit the shops too. In the worst case, they could get flooded, slowing down Rarity a ton. The store had a strange but unique setup, from left hoof were all the fur, from the right, all the wool products.

"Oh look it's Rarity." a voice told her from behind. A voice she always recognized. One that was so different, so unique it was impossible to mistake. One that belonged to someone even worse than Trixie. "Making a new dress for the Circus?"

"Pop Couture, what a pleasant surprise." Rarity greeted her in a seemingly happy tone that was dripping from sarcasm. Her coat being similar off-white, with a blonde mane she wore in a bob cut, adorned with a very long white tie. Pop Couture was the single most annoying pony she ever met in her life. She is famous for designing costumes seen in comics, plays, video games, and such. Sadly though, her speciality turned into her bane, as she became too pompous of her work, looking down on every other "casual" dress-maker. That would have been forgivable, but the fact that she non-stop made references to famous works just made her downright irritating. However, if you wanted your favorite hero's costume become a reality, Pop Couture was the first and best choice.

"You won't believe it but I made it into a fashion contest, it's supposed to be co-op but you know me, I prefer playing solo." she explained, laughing as she watched the mare sorting up the materials on the shelf.

"Oh did you now?" Rarity asked back, in hope of the nightmare disappearing soon. She seriously was unable to care less, and she didn't hide this fact in the least.

"Get in, make a well-known dress and milk the gold, guess who WILL be a millionaire?" she added, poking Rarity's legs with hers. De Ja Wu, Agate also said the same in the very beginning, however, she actually learned her lesson. The seamstress despised this kind of attitude mostly because of Couture.

"You do realize that the judges will be grown-up, experienced professionals and not comic-addict foals, rights?" Rarity asked in a teasing manner, still refusing to look at Couture.

Thus the mare forced her to, grabbing her shoulder and turning the seamstress into her direction.  
"If you think you can scare me, if you think you can _beat_  me..." she told her, leaning even closer, her exhales felt on the muzzle of the ivory one "Forget it, it's Chinatown."

With that finished, she let go of the seamstress and backed off, then left the shop with an irritated face. A smug smile spread across Rarity's face, for she managed to leave a long-lasting and bitter after-taste in the mouth of her competitor. Served her right. Then she returned to her job like nothing happened.

 

~~~

 

Done with buying the fur as well, Rarity pleasantly trotted down the streets later, as if she forgot she had more things to buy in little time. A familiar character caught her attention, a tall, handsome stallion with white coat and royal blue mane. She knew who he was, but she let her eyes wonder along his attribute for a little... and a bit more... just one more second.

 _'Oh, this is so wrong'_ Rarity thought, after all, it was a brother of one of her best friends, and he was married too, but she couldn't help it. A little bit later, like lightning did Shining Armor turn back to the feeling he is being watched.

"Rarity! So good to see you." he greated her with a pleasant smile, as he turned back not minding or noticing anything the mare has done.

Rarity felt utmost uncomfortable, but she answered anyway pretending she hasn't noticed stallion at all "Oh hi, Armor. How is your day?"

"Fine, thank you. Agate told me she got you as a teammate for the contest. I hope she is not giving you a hell of a time." told her the guard as they kept strolling down the streets. Shining Armor was always outgoing towards Twilight's friends ever since the wedding.

"Not at all, actually she has shown really good manners so far, she even put down drinking ever since we began working together." Rarity explained, but when her friend began to stretch his lips in a nervous and awkward way, she had to ask "Is something wrong?"

"No, no, not at all." Shining laughed in a nervous way "It's just I bet my fellow fifty bits she won't survive without alcohol for a week and I'm getting really close to losing it."

"Well, you still have two days left so hope for the bests." Rarity giggled back, though inside her mind she was irritated quiet a bit for the guard betting on her misfortune. "I should really get back to shopping if you don't mind." she added, stopping by the store she planned to buy the organza.

"Oh! One last thing" Armor shouted up before parting ways with the seamstress "Did Agate get a bit more... curvy, nowadays?" he asked.

"No, I haven't noticed." Rarity replied as she raised her left eyebrow. Though curious, she didn't intend to spend more time listening to an explanation, thus she didn't ask questions but bid farewell and let themselves be on their ways.

 

~~~

 

The day passed by faster than it ever did before, but at last, Rarity had all things needed. She took out her checklist once more and gave it a last, swift glance . One thing was still a mystery to her, how could she possibly take the roll of fabric and the plates of steel back to Ponyville? She wasn't sure she can take them onto the train, but then she got reminded by the enormous cake they had to escort months ago. The problem was that the whole plan sounded pretty shaky, for Agate would need to work here with proper equipment for the best result, but that would take far too much time and money taking it back and forth. So, they took whatever they could move to Ponyville. Yet a furnace and an anvil was still needed.

Despite that, Rarity had her trust laid in her partner, she charged up her horn which's signature blue aura engulfed the paper bag, the sylvia and the steel. She opened the door, and after a little trouble with the sheets of steel, she left, locked the building and went to catch up for the train home.


	9. Independence: Agate

Agate was running up and down ever since she woke up, and it was half past nine already. She was too nervous to eat, too nervous to think even. She was in panic, walking around in circles from which she could not get out from.

"What should I do, what should I do?!" she asked over and over again. "I need to get all the materials for the dress, but I promised Lotus and Aloe to help too." she rambled, with a loud and painful groan afterwards as she smashed her head into the wall in front of her.

"Plan forward you foal!" a deep and barky voice told her from behind. "Rarity wouldn't just lay down crying miserably, why would you?".  
It was none other, but Agate's closest friend, loyal advisor and most of all, favorite tool of trade: Hamy the hammer.

"Yes. Yes, she should try to do something." Agate replied to the hammer levitating in a purple aura. For some reason Hamy could always beat a bit of sense into her... not literally of course.

"Think, girl, how could you get the things and help the girls at the same time?" the hammer asked, levitating closer the mustard unicorn.

Agate started to think at last, she grabbed a pen and paper and decided to draw her plans while discussing it with her inanimate partner.

"Alright, so since the park is somewhere outside, and the hot bath shouldn't be heated all the time, we could get some time to run around town and get all things one by one." she explained, drawing arcs and circles in a little sketch of a map she made. "And between two runs we could help the girls out, yes. That sounds like it could work. We would need to run around a lot but-"

"See? I knew you can use that head if you want to." Hamy complimented from behind, interrupting the sentence.

"Thanks Hamy, I should pack up and get going, then. The shops will close soon." she told her, discharging her horn and thus dropping the tool on the ground as she made her way outside the bedroom. With a plan that may or may not work, she was always able to gain enough determination to get going, even if it was a foal's errand. Her stomach started to growl awfully as she closed the door in front of herself.

"But first, let me make a sandwich." she said, trotting down to the kitchen and looking into the fridge. She grew very hungry now that her nerves became calm once more. She needed to be fast, though, for time was ticking.

 

~~~

 

Leaving the boutique with a now full stomach and Rarity's saddlebags, she headed straight towards the park where the girls were already waiting for her. The weather was amazing just like the days before, and the happy ponies strolled outside to smell the heavenly aromas of the products. Four massage beds placed next to each other under the shadows of an oak, while shelves were standing next to them full of lotions, powders and Agate's favorite, lavastones. The girls were already giving out their services to the townsfolk, however the gigantic wooden tub out in the Sun was empty.

"Hey girls!" Agate shouted as she approached. She knew she was a little bit late, but as they say: "Better late than never."

Lotus was more than delighted to see her, the sooner they could get the bath to work the better.  
"Miss Agate, quick, we need your assistance immediately." Lotus said, while massaging an orange earth pony.

"I know, I know." Agate told her, as she charged up her horn, rushing towards the pool. She needed to heat it up fast, so for maximum efficiency she charged up the heat spell and sunk the tip of her horn into the liquid. She was painfully forcing all her magic into that one little point as the water began to boil around it. As she heard the bubbles coming up, she discharged to save the remaining energy for later. Her breathing became more severe as she wiped some sweat off her forehead, but the job was done... for now. Only afterwards she noticed the third mare around, she looked exactly like Lotus and Aloe style-wise, but she was beige with a purple mane. She was running the counter, placed in a little desk she sat in front of. Whoever she was, she caught interest in the mustard mare.

"We haven't met before, right? I'm Agate." the unicorn walked up to her, shaking hooves with her. The earth pony looked worried and a bit scaredy, as if she was trying to tell something, but was too scared to do so.

"I'm Vera, Aloe told me about you, thank you for helping us." Vera replied, returning the gesture. "But if you are going to work at the spa you need to wear a headband. It's a rule, you know." she whispered, as if she would be afraid of her still.

"About that, I'm going to need to go buy stuff around town, but I'll jump by and heat the pool again if it's cool." the motormouth Agate explained. She kept on jumping in place, she was hurrying that much.

"Sure... I guess." Vera replied with no sign of any confidence. Agate nodded with a quick 'Thanks' and rushed to her first stop. There was no time for her, the shops were closing earlier today, and she couldn't fail here.

The dust was flying high behind her as the unicorn ran through the town. She planned to run to the farthest places first as she had the energy to do so. Her first stop was the Beds and Bells Shop, as the little silver bells were one of the most important accessories. Exhausted and wheezing, she took a few seconds to put herself together, then entered.

A pair of bells rang as she opened the door, not much to her surprise. The store was not as big as she expected, but it was neatly organized, with the bells hanging over the beds, giving a strange but cool feeling to the room. She spent no time with looking around but went to the counter straight away, asking for what she was looking for.

"Hi there, do you have round silver bells?" she asked in visible hurry. The shop was overwatched by a stallion of light blue and gray. As soon as the request entered his ears he rushed back and brought out a beautiful round piece of silver on a small, grey thread.

"How about this one? It's two bits." he asked with a smile on his face. He knew not to take time of a costumer in a hurry, so he did not mess around but got to the point. Just what Agate needed. The armorsmith asked for a couple more of the same product and a few minutes in, she was able to pay right up.

"Good day, Agate." a voice greeted her from behind. To her surprise, it was her mane-friend Roseluck. Mane-friend as in they had the exact same manestyle, it was a word Agate came up with.

"Hey Rose, what's up?" she asked. She still was in a lot of hurry and it was clear as crystal.

"Oh, I was looking around for things for my garden but unfortunately they don't sell flowerbeds here." she answered with a sad melody in her voice. The way she talked was so slow compared to the unicorn it was driving her mad.

"Well, I see you're in a hurry so I won't hold you up." the gardener added.

She suddenly found Agate's hooves wrapped around her neck "Sorry Rose, maybe next time." the mustard one apologized.   
She packed up and as swift as she came, she rushed away. The bells were checked out, but there was more to be done.

Leaving the shop, she was almost ran over by somepony speeding with a scooter. Her eyes followed the dark brown filly, zig-zagging a few meters then falling over and crashing.   
The unicorn rushed there to lend a helping hoof.

"Hey girl, you alright?" she asked. However, the little one just stood up and brushed the dust off herself.

"Yeah, yeah, nothing serious." she replied as if it was nothing, aligning the blue helmet she wore "But thanks anyway.".   
She hopped on her scooter again and buzzed off with the help of her wings. A strange method of using that thing, sure, but the unicorn saw the awesomeness in it. That girl had potential and she used it all up.

Agate rushed to make her way back to the park, after seeing that around twenty minutes already passed. She was getting tired of all this running, but she had luck the shops hasn't close yet. It was certainly easier for her this time, for she knew the exact way. As soon as she saw the park she already began to charge her horn. She hurried up the tub and began to boil it once more, then with a quick farewell she rushed away again.

Only afterwards she noticed that this won't be able to continue for very long. She was breaking sweat and was exhausted. Then, out of nowhere, she heard a voice coming from above.

"Hey, aren't those Rarity's bags?" a pegasus said. She had a blue coat, and a mane of many, many colors. It was a strange sight somepony with a mane of a rainbow.

"I borrowed it from her." Agate shouted back without any sign of stopping. The pegasus flew over her, as she saw her shadow next to hers on the ground.

"Oh yeah?" she asked, dashing to the unicorn and tackling her with her body. Both of them rolled on the ground for a little, the pegasus coming on the top "I don't believe it."

"Rainbow Dash, let her be!" a female voice shouted from behind, a voice oddly familiar but still somewhat different. "I'm sorry about her." she added as the pegasus gained a purple aura around her that levitated her up in the air, then put down on the ground behind the owner of the magic.

Agate recognized her, it was her old classmate in Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns: Twilight Sparkle. Her cute, dark purple bangs not changed a bit from since, even the streaks were the same. She reached out to lend a hoof to the mare on the ground.

"He-hey, Sunburn, long time no-" however, her sentence turned into a gigantic "Ugf!" as the librarian stomped on her stomach out of sheer frustration.

"You asked for this, Agate!" she replied, her eyes shut but still visibly twitching. She gave her another chance to the mustard coated to redeem herself, which she accepted, being up on her fours again. Twilight was a mare who could forgive, but there were things that could upset her more than others, and the "nickname" Sunburn was very much one of them.

"Wait, wait, wait. You know this girl, Twilight?" Rainbow asked in confusion, shaking her head. It took her by surprise from what her face shown.

"She was my classmate in the Princess's school before she got fired for her grades. Rainbow this is Agate." Twilight introduced them, still a bit annoyed from that word. It was that little sweet spot that could trigger her rage in a flash. "Agate, what are you doing with Rarity's bags mind if I ask?"

"She lent me them until she shops in Canterlot, and I'm shopping in Ponyville. I don't have time to explain girls, I gotta hurry." she blabbered as quick as she could, not even dusting herself off.

"Okay then, just don't make any trouble." Twilight told her with watching eyes and a menacing voice.

"Yeah, don't- What?!" shouted Rainbow Dash "You let her go like that?"

"Yes I do, Agate is mischievous but not a thief. Despite that..." Twilight explained, looking at the other unicorn who was already long gone by then "I'd love to hear what she is doing here in Ponyville."

 

~~~

 

After dropping by the Carpenter's for the steel rings, studs, glue, and others, Agate was to made her third run to the park, but her body was too weak already. Her sides were in agony, her legs in extreme pain, even breathing hurt her. Yet she didn't give up, she had to carry on to make up time. Things started to fade into blur, running was impossible, all she saw was colorful spots on a gigantic green and blue canvas. She began charging her horn, making it glow with a beautiful purple aura, but she couldn't hold it. The magic around it dissipated as her body collapsed like a ragdoll on the hot ground. The saddlebags hit the ground, throwing up their contents on the dirt.

"Miss Agate!" a voice screamed. A pink face appeared between the two black shades closing and opening a little bit randomly, in the blurry vision of the mare, as a gentle touch lifted her head from the ground "Miss Agate, are you alright?" she asked, receiving a light groan from the unicorn.

"Quick! Water! Water!" Aloe screamed behind, making a blue face join her a second later "It's alright Miss Agate, here drink this." she added. Aloe held her still while Lotus (with the help of her mouth) poured some fresh water from a bottle into her, dropping it on the ground.

"Let's bring her in from the heat." Lotus advised, as the spa sisters took the unicorn with their front hooves and lifted her up, bringing her under the shadows and laying down on an empty massage bed.

"Here, just lay down, I'll call a nurse." Aloe said, as she took another little bottle of cold water from the cooling box filled with ice, giving it to the unicorn, then hurrying to Vera to have her call a nurse. Agate didn't really know what was going on, all she knew that she was saved by her new friends and that the unbearable heat of the Sun was not harming her anymore. It was good there, where she was laying. After some more moments, the watching eyes in the spa's territory started to focus elsewhere.

In her mind, Agate failed. She was upset she couldn't make it, but her pain and condition disallowed her to express it. All she could do was to lie there.

 _'Rarity's going to kill me.'_ she repeated in herself, but she resigned with the thought over time. She tried her best and it was just not enough. Can't win every battle. Partially, it was her fault as well, for not thinking forwards.

"Let's see." a stranger's voice was sounded near her. Agate turned her head to see a yellow coated mare with a mane of light blue she wore in a net under a nurse cap. She put her hoof on the sweating forehead of the unicorn. "She got heat stroke. Quick, give me a wet towel." she told somepony behind her, turning completely to the mare "Have you drunk anything today?" she asked as she leaned over her.

"Not really." Agate shook her head.

"That's severe dehydration as well." the nurse added "Try to sit up if you can, slowly, slowly."

Agate lifted her head first, then the rest of her body too. She placed her head into her hoof for a second as she sighed, but she felt a little bit better than before.

"Easy now, easy." the nurse said, as she supported her on the back. Agate charged her horn and popped open the water bottle to get some more water to drink.

"Thank you nurse, I'm a little better." Agate told her, grateful as she could be, trying to get on her fours once more, but the earth pony denied it.

"No no no, don't hurry that much. Just lie down a bit more until you feel better." she replied, keeping Agate on the bed and helping her lie down. Meanwhile, Aloe brought the cool and wet towel, which the nurse put on Agate's forehead.

"Let's talk a little, dear, alright? I'm Nurse Snowheart, I work at the Ponyville Hospital nearby, how about you?" she asked, in hope to keep the patient still and calm. It was usually a good method, but drew a few consequences.

"I'm Agate, I am a smith from Canterlot." the unicorn replied. The situation gave off the feeling of being at a therapist to her, but she didn't mind it much.

"That is very interesting, here for a little holiday?" Snowheart asked in a jovial tone. Unlike her name suggested, it seemed like her heart wasn't as cold as snow.

"You can say that." Agate replied with a soft chuckle. She didn't think about calling this a holiday before, but now that she thought about it, she might as well do so.

The two spent many minutes chit-chatting before Snowheart bid farewell. Agate felt considerably better afterwards, she had no trouble standing up either. Though she felt a bit dizzy still, she knew things are fine again.

"Feel better Miss Agate?" Aloe asked.

"A lot, thank you." the unicorn replied as she charged her horn once more. She felt healthy enough to get back to work and she tried to heat the pool a tiny bit once more, with success. Everyone seemed to be delighted she was back again, but most of all, her.

"We gathered up the things you dropped Miss Agate, they're just next to the tree." Lotus said. The items indeed lied just right to the box of ice, with little to no damage. That was a great relief for the unicorn.

"Thank you very much girls. I owe you one." she thanked them, the three beauticians gently giggling. She cruised up to the tree with the towel, and with the help of her magic she took a few cubes of ice and rubbed it against its texture, then wrapped it around her body like a belt. She took a quick look into the backpacks, but nothing was missing.

Now that the shops were closed and Agate also recuperated from her condition nothing stopped her to put on the signature spa headband and spend some of her afternoon working with the girls she adored.


	10. Independence: Finale

The sun was settling inch by inch in the warm Saturday afternoon, yet it was far from piercing the mountains below. The outdoor spa closed earlier to have time returning the furniture to the building. While it would have been usually time-consuming alone, with Agate by their side the process was significantly easier. The unicorn could carry two beds, while the earth ponies carried one-one on their backs.

"How about the pool?" Agate asked, breaking sweat under the weigh of the furniture. It was by far not as easy as she made it look, even with her magical strength.

"It will be fine there." Lotus replied, struggling with the work as well.

The entire road there seemed to take forever, and Agate felt like just dropping the whole stuff there. She still remembered how it turned out the last time she did it, so she placed them where they belonged. Aloe and Lotus also rid themselves from their weigh, all that was left is just the fine-tuning, but it could wait. There were still a few things to bring back Vera was watching over, including the saddlebags, so the mares returned to the park one last time.

"So? Same stuff tomorrow too?" Agate asked the girls with a warm and friendly look. She surely have recovered from the heat stroke from before, no doubt about that.

"Actually..." Lotus told her, taking a look at her sister, than back "Aloe suggested we should try a cold bath therapy for once too." Though they say hot baths can help one stand more heat on the long run, the girls needed to try something new, and prepare for the chance of even more incidents like that.

"Alright then, makes sense to me in this awful heat." Agate giggled. She still was grateful for what the two ponies did to her, in her mind, she considered the possibility of them being her new so called "guardian angels" like Fleur... yet, something was missing. Regardless, she didn't play with the thought for too long, for her instincts will tell her when the time comes.

"Thank you for everything Miss Agate, we don't even know how could we repay your help." Aloe explained, as she walked up to the unicorn putting up the saddlebag.

"No need for that, really, I'm thankful for the first aid." Agate replied, waving her hoof with a delightful grin.

"See you tomorrow, girls." she added, bidding farewell.

"Goodbye Miss Agate!" all three of them replied. It was just so adorable, the unicorn felt like squealing again in joy. Something that didn't last for too long, as she was ready of Rarity's wrath. A failure is a failure, and though her partner was understanding, she was strict as well, and she got more than enough of her the first day. The Boutique of Doom came closer and closer with each step, yet Agate didn't show any sign of stopping, not even when she twisted the doorknob. As she was expecting, it was open.

"Hey, Rarity! I'm back!" she shouted, but the answer came from someone else.

"Rarity is not home yet." Sweetie shouted back from upstairs. What a relief, though this didn't solve anything, just postponed the inevitable. She stepped in to pack down when the feeling of paper went through her right hoof.

It was a letter. She charged up her horn to pick it up and have a look at it, strolling towards the showroom to rid herself the bags. It was signed to Rarity, sent by Fleur. Finally, a word from Fleur.  
Though it was not a too nice thing, opening up letters sent for others, she was quite sure Fleur sent this to her... and what Rarity didn't know, it didn't hurt her. Well, it could hurt no more than what she was getting anyway.

The unicorn took her way to the kitchen to get a bite, opening the letter with great care, not to rip the fragile paper cover. The method worked well, and the letter's content became reachable while the cover remained intact as she began shaking it, dropping the message on the wood. She picked up from the table with her hoof and began reading it right there, on the floor.

_"Dear Rarity!_

_I hope you and Agate are doing well. I'm truly sorry I couldn't help you earlier, but I am to make this up later on whatever way I can._

_I have heard the canterlotian judge, Royal Ribbon fell ill, and that Fancy is going to take her place. Things are quite unclear for now, but I'll make sure to inform you whatever changes might occur._

_It might be for the better if you could not tell about this to Agate (unless you read it out, of course), I'm having a bad feeling about the matter._

_Sincerelly_  
_Fleur"_

Agate sighed up. The pain in her heart was worse than anything she felt today. She kept reading it over and over, yet the more she read, the more tears gathered up in her eyes. She dropped the letter on the ground, staring at the fridge in front of her.

"It's over... everything is over." she cried. Eventually, her eyes couldn't hold back, and the flood broke through. She took a look at the letter again, leaning over it once more as the magic lifted it up, folded it just the way it were before and put it back where it belonged. She didn't want to see it ever again.

"Even if we get there, we won't be able to win for sure. He'll zero us down as soon as my name is called." she continued "And all that because of that stuck-up idiot." her inhales large, her salty tears even larger, rolling down on her cheeks like a river. All hopes crushed with a single letter for her. These times, there was only one thing that could help...

"Hey Agate, I brought up Rarity's bags upstairs, hope you don't-"... Sweetie however fell silent for long moments, as she saw the weeping mare.

"Are you alright?" she asked worried from what happened.

Agate cleared her face from the salty tears before replying with little nods "Yes... yes I'm fine.".  
Though seeing her got the unicorn thinking, for it was not the best idea to drown her sadness into alcohol when a filly was around, the consequences could have been catastrophic.

"I just... I just need to take a little walk." she told the little one with a great exhale. She stood up, and headed towards the door again.

"I'll be right back." she added in the same uneven voice as the door opened, Sweetie watching her leave in silence.

 

~~~

 

"Sweetie Belle, I'm back." a voice was heard from the entrance later "Agate, I'm home.".

Rarity finally arrived after a long journey, holding to Agate's key and little gem even though she did not need it at all, but taking out the keys before going in was a habit she couldn't do anything against. The traveling certainly was not something her mind and body enjoyed, it felt like sucking the life out of her. She was pretty tired already, but still had enough energy left to put everything down by the door instead of dropping them.

"Sweetie, where is Agate?" she asked in a curious but strict upwards tone.

Sweetie shrugged "She said she went for a little walk, but she has been away for an hour already.".

Rarity's mind filled confusion, as the disbelief started to grow inside her mind like wildfire. "Did she say where she went or anything?"

"No, she has been away all day long." Sweetie shook her head.

That second, the confusion turned into a supernova of wrath.  
"I knew it!" she shouted, smashing the stone on the ground in her frustration. The jewel cracked, a huge piece from the bottom breaking off completely from the impact, with several tiny pieces scattering across the floor.

"Sis?"

"I'll go look for her, wait here until I get back." the ivory coated roared, shutting the door behind her.

The sun reached for the horizon, the ponies starting to return home from their work or chill a bit outside since the weather was not that hot anymore, unlike Rarity. The seamstress, like a blazing ball of hay trotted down the streets, each step matching an earthquake under her hooves. She hoped, she trusted, yet despite all that, there was that little part of her mind that whispered the words of fear, doubt and disbelief, ones that also seemed to be the words of truth.  
Agate made a fatal mistake being so intrigued about the Spa Weekend yesterday, considering the fact that she also forgot that she was looking for a housing agent just fueled this, with Armor's words on her drinking habit casing the joint. She knew exactly where she had to go.

The Longstep, the only pub around where you could get a nice alcoholic drink outside cider season. It was not extraordinary or anything, just a little house with a little terrace filled with two tables for the townsfolk to hang out. She didn't see Agate nor outside or inside, so she most likely left if she was here to begin with. As she passed by the building though, Rarity's mouth formed a wicked grin. She found her.

Agate was lying in a bush on the right side of the building. Rarity stepped closer, but the horrible smell of booze hit her face like a brick, forcing her to back away a little.  
_'Ugh, disgusting.'_ she though, as her horn began to glow once again, pulling the mare out the vegetation by her tail.

Absolute blackout, Agate was drunk dead, her cheeks red, mouth open, and smelling like a skunk from top to bottom. Even though Rarity could easily just leave her there, it could not have been a painful enough punishment, unlike having her face the consequences head-on.

There was no choice but... bringing her back home. Just the mere thought made the seamstress gulp hard. The stench created an invisible barrier that couldn't let her any closer. She looked left and right in hesitation, there sure was a way out of this that did not involve her getting any closer to that next-to toxic area, nor dragging her all the way back on the ground. But she found no solution no matter what.

She took a deep breath and with a charge of magic she lifted up the drunkard, placing it on her back with difficulties. Yet she knew there was no way to survive with a single breath until the boutique, and Rarity was soon forced to take a painful one. She began shredding tears from the curse on her back.

 _'What did I do to deserve this?'_  she cried in herself in agony. It seemed home was forever from that point, but after all struggling, there will be relief. She decided to think positively, that's it, only good things from now on. Oh, she couldn't wait for a good old bath and then going to sleep in her wonderful, comfortable, warm bed, maybe lighting some aromatic candles in the room too. It was so close. She already saw the boutique's door.

After what felt like forever, she reached home, opening the door she ran in like a freak, laying down the passed-out mare on the floor like a ragdoll.

"You found her!" Sweetie shouted. She was waiting for them downstairs, apparently, pretty anxious about the events.

"Yes I did." Rarity confirmed, sprinting up the stairs at the speed of light.

"Is she asleep?" Sweetie asked, taking a closer look at Agate.

Rarity immediately stopped and turned back her head "Yes, she is fine where she is, leave her there!" she shouted, continuing her way to the bathroom, and opening the water full on. Yet it still, it was not fast enough, she kept clopping her hooves on the ground in her impatience until the tub had enough water, no need to make it full, half as much was more then enough. She jumped in, took the soap and washed off all the germs, all the stink, all the dirt from herself. What a relieving sensation it was, words hardly could describe.

"Sis, why does Agate smell... weird?" the voice of the filly was heard from behind the door.

"Because she was stupid enough to get drunk dead." Rarity roared back as an answer.

"You mean she died?!" the filly screamed, with signs panic. Rarity should have seen this coming, her sister was bad when it came to these sort of idioms.

"No, dear, it's when you drink too much of what you're too young for and fall asleep, and Agate has a bad habit to drink like this." the other one replied, comforting her in a now much calmer tone.

"Is it like you eating ice cream when you're sad? Because she was crying a lot before going away." Sweetie asked once more.

This was completely new for Rarity. She became confused again, this put everything to a different perspective. If Agate was really crying there would have been a good reason for her to do so. Then suddenly, the words of Fleur echoed through her mind. It was a good possibility, but there was one way to make sure.

"Rarity?" asked Sweetie again, snapping the bathing unicorn from the mysterious state of her mind.

"Yes, it might be, dear." she replied. "Sweetie, have you seen her elsewhere today?" the seamstress asked. She needed every bit of information she could obtain.

"We seen her run by once when we went to the secret clubhouse at Applebloom's, but otherwise, no." the filly replied.

 _'Running by... why was she running?'_ Rarity thought. It just didn't add up. She emerged from the water, and with a charge of magic she brought over a towel to dry herself as soon as she could, she needed to check something fast. She threw the towel on the side of the tub she unplugged with a small mana burst, and trotted out, heading to her bedroom.

Her saddlebags were there, stuffed with things she could guess already, but needed to make sure they are what she thought they are. The clear white textile soiled by horrid brown dust in a few places still, but nothing she could not handle. The seamstress opened the treasure sack, and it was indeed full of treasures. Bells, studs, rims, glue, and other much needed materials, though only around half of the complete list they put together. Yet, the most essential things were there, and that was all that mattered to start off. Rarity started to understand the events now, yet there was one more thing left.

She walked downstairs, looking for her letter, but it was nowhere to be found near the door. Rarity took her way to the kitchen, instantly noticing the object in question on the table. It looked intact at first glance, but as the ivory mistress picked it up with the help of her magic she was quick to notice the top part flailing. The letter was already opened, so the only thing she had to do is to take out the paper.

As expected, the lower part of the paper was rugged, filled with spots of tears that left their mark behind. Rarity didn't even care to read the actual letter, for she knew the contents already, instead, she just put it away.

She was wrong in the end. From the corner of her eyes, a familiar object blinked at her, a small purple gemstone on a keyring, shattered and cracked. It was just terrible. She felt beyond awful. She thought she uncovered everything, but she failed to see the bigger picture by the end. She didn't even want to put her friend through the mill anymore, instead, she felt like jumping head on into it instead of her. She picked up the keyring as she made her way back to the hall, staring at the jewel for long seconds. The nice colors demolished by a devilish, black crack, the beautiful, perfectly smooth shape... ruined, something that could never be fixed. She glanced over to her passed-out friend, gazing at her for a second before she faded away her rims with a deep sigh.

"Oh Aggy, what should I do with you?"


	11. What friends are for

Blur. Pain. Dizziness. The first words were to come into the mind of the smith as she regained consciousness.

"Oh, look who woke up!" a loud and angry voice echoed through her ears, along with sounds of hooves beating the floor. "I was actually wondering if you mamnm mn mhmnmm DON'T DARE FALL ASLEEP WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!" a huge thunder shook the surroundings, making the eyes of the mare pop open.

The blurry image became pinpoint accurate in a sudden. It was Rarity... a grave with the name of Agate enbroided in her fiery eyes. The awful headache kicked her head once more, which she couldn't hide from the ivory one.

"Well, you brought it on yourself." Rarity said with a huff, looking away and heading towards one of the shelves. Only then did Agate notice where they were, in Rarity's room. The sun already lit up the entire place completely, Agate sure was asleep for a long time. Rarity opened the shelf with a help of her blue magic, picking up a little box and carelessly throwing it at her friend.

"I honestly have no idea what were you thinking, but I'm glad I don't need to say you were not thinking at all." Rarity added in her same, frustrated tone "Next time however, I will leave you to rot on the streets, understood?".

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry." Agate replied, hiding behind her hooves in shame. The pills the mare throw at her were painkillers, something much needed. She popped out one and swallowed it, water was not needed for her. She tried to get up, but it was hard, as her body was numb and it seemed confused about what to do, rendering the unicorn suffering on the floor for a couple seconds. Rarity still looked grumpy, though, she was not satisfied by mere half-sentences.

"Look, I really am sorry. I was all upset and stuff about the letter I thought Fleur sent to me and I needed something to chill off, I should have minded my own business, and it won't happen again, I promise." she apologized towards her. Rarity's frown turned into a warm smile, as she let the mustard coated gaze into her now calm eyes once more. Now this answer sounded much more sincere.

But as Rarity eyed the other unicorn, Agate's face became white from the fright. Roughly two seconds after that frozen solid state, Agate let out a gigantic gasp as she rushed towards the shelf.

"No. No no no no!!" she shouted. Rarity knew this can't be bad, but horrible, if not downright apocalyptic. On the top shelf lied no else but Agate's little gem, broken into pieces by a mindless monster.

"My agate. What happened?" she said, her voice vibrating, as if she was on the verge of crying.

"It was..." Rarity replied, though her mind wanted to get away by saying it was an accident, its aftermath would have been something she could not bear, so she chose the harder, honest route.

"It was me. I broke it out of sheer frustration, I'm truly sorry." she confessed, strolling up to her friend as she put a hoof on her shoulder, "I should have known it is precious to you."

Agate sighed "Belle Garde gave me this when I moved to the workshop, to let me remind of her, or remind myself of who am I, I don't know. Maybe both. She didn't actually tell."

"I... am so sorry, darling." Rarity apologized once more. This mistake cost her friend a memory from somepony, such thing cannot be replaced by any value. "If there is anything I can do to make up for it, please do tell me."

"No, no, it's alright." Agate denied. The fact that Rarity brought her home last night was already too much for her to handle.

"I insist, it clearly is not alright." Rarity replied with the same worried look on her face.

"No, for real it's... nothing." the other denied as she looked away. "It's a bit broken but nothing serious."

"Agate, I ruined an invaluable piece of your past, at least let me make up for my mistake." Rarity shouted back, pressing her hoof against the other's shoulder as she tried to hold her from running away.

The smith hesitated, she kept staring at the floor, then her precious stone. But as she realized her friend will do it whether she likes it or not she gave in with a tiny grin.  
"But it better be good."

Rarity chuckled back under her muzzle as she let go of her. She realized that she also had something very similar hidden somewhere in this room. She charged up her horn as a little heart shaped gem appeared from under her bed.

"You know I also have a jewel that means a lot to me." she explained, showing it to her friend.

"Yeah, it looks really precious." Agate told her, checking it out from every direction. It was a heart shaped, red ruby, very high quality at that too. "Would be a shame if something-"

"Don't you dare! This is bad even for a joke." Rarity screamed, as she took the gem away, holding it thigh like filly her teddy bear. Agate had a good giggle at her of course, it was indeed a terrible joke, but still worth it. With a bit of time Rarity also formed a little smile as she rolled her eyes and put the ruby away.

"I know a place where we can find a new one for you." Rarity said. "After you washed your teeth of course."   
Agate still had the slight smell of a brewery in her mouth, which needed to be eliminated, not to mention her mane that was a mess. To the bathroom they went, then a breakfast, and only afterwards could they afford a bit of treasure hunting.

 

~~~

 

Having a breakfast and set themselves appropriately, the two mares were ready to hit the place where Rarity finds her gems. The streets were pretty busy by the time, and the sun was bombarding everything below with its searing hot rays. Luckily though, they packed water this time, two bottles of it in Rarity's bags to prevent what happened last time.

"So, where did you get that fire ruby from?" Agate asked on the way.

"Oh, I got that from my little Spikey-Wikey." Rarity replied, almost turning out of her personality "He is the most adorable dragon living at Twilight's, he is her assistant."

"Wait, that short purple guy? So you know Twilight too?" Agate asked with a huge grin.

"Why she is one of my closest friends in town, why do you ask?"

"Oh, how small is Equestria!" Agate laughed "I was actually her classmate in school... for a while that is. We always called her Twilight Sunburn for her obsession with the princess and all that. So you're in love with her sidekick?" the other mare asked, wagging her eyebrows as she leaned closer to her partner.

"Well, I definitely find him adorable, but as for a serious love interest..." Rarity noted, thinking a bit more seriously on the topic "Not likely, he is just a baby dragon after all.". A crush was alright in her eyes, but even in a more adult state, Spike was still a dragon no matter what. Not to mention after what happened last time, their relationship had little to no chance in advancing.

"How about you? Have you found that special somepony?" she asked, turning to the right at a T-turn that was leading out from Ponyville.

"Meh, no. I mean the guards are cool and stuff, I tried a lot of them but, they don't have that special... thing." Agate tried to explain, but her fairly lacking vocabulary gave her a hard time. Rarity was quite confused about the term "trying", it made the whole thing sounds just wrong, but she knew Agate's wording of choice was not the best so she knew she didn't mean that.

"I guess I get it." Rarity responded with an awkward giggle. "Better choose one for a lifetime, I agree with that, even though I must admit it is easy to turn my head as well, especially these times." she added, scratching the back of her head.

"Yeah... and I don't really think they think I'm good-looking anyway." the mustard one added with a faked smile.

This kind of confused and a bit saddened Rarity, for she knew well the aspects of beauty and Agate had a lot of potential in herself she did not know of yet. It was most likely of her environtment's standards and her uncaring behavior towards her appearance.

"Speaking of which, I've met the doctor who works in the hospital yesterday, he looks so handsome, I think of asking him out soon." the seamstress said with a romantic sigh afterwards. Rarity was keeping an eye out on him for a while now... too much in her opinion. It was time to take action.

"Where are we going exactly?" Agate asked as she noticed they left the town quite a bit by now and were in the path of a forest.

"Here." Rarity answered, as the mares arrived in a dusty field surrounded by a rocky valley. This is where Rarity always went if she needed more gems for her decorations, and even though years passed, it just didn't seem to run out of treasures.   
She turned to her pal with a friendly wink "Don't worry Agate, I'll find the rarest, most precious gemstone in-"

"..."

"...or, something more common and simpler, that will do too." she corrected herself. The warm and lovely smile and the gentle gaze reminded Rarity of something important. She knew that carat did not matter her friend. Agate was something different, so she needed something different.

Agate giggled at her. It felt so great somepony caring about her so much.  
"You know, I wish mom would have learnt that." she sighed.

"Hm?"

"That the simple, cheap things can be valuable too." she replied "But instead, she became nothing but a gold digger."   
Rarity did not say a word, but listened as Agate kept working up over the matter once again, maybe she had something that might be important.

"You know what it feels like being a part of a project to milk money?" she asked, Rarity raising an eyebrow.

"I was always expected to choose the best things, was treated like a princess just so I can get on well with the rich and raise the sum of the family. You know what I mean." she continued, furious, almost shouting by now. That was the point where the ivory mistress decided to interfere.

"It's okay, Aggy." Rarity calmed her by patting her on the back "Don't beat yourself up over it, you're here and that's what matters." she told her, as her horn charged up. In that second, small auras of blue started to glow under the ground, things only her eyes saw. She knew the exact location of the jewels, all she needed was to dig them up.

Her blue magic engulfed the little shovel in her backpack and levitated it out, hitting the ground and shoving away some of it. After three or four more digs it was there. An orange garnet, it had a strange, uneven form, with colorful spots all over it. Not a too beautiful gem, at least in the eyes of Rarity. It didn't have anything special in it.

Time to look further. Agate didn't tell a word, of course, she wanted Rarity to choose. Tt was her gift after all, and the seamstress also knew it is not necessary to ask what kind she would like, since the gesture was all that mattered. Yet she wanted something that was unique, and fitting for a mare like the smith. Something that's "Agate-ish".

She took a sip from the bottle of water and her shovel hit the ground once more. This time, she dug up a turqoise, although it was broken as the shovel shattered it into two pieces. Unusable. She buried it back and looked further.

"You are awfully silent back there. Is something wrong?" she asked back as she headed towards the next location.

"I was just thinking, you know, when we were talking about mom, I realized I haven't seen your parents." Agate noted, following her friend.

"Oh yes, they are on a vacation right now. Speaking of which, it was suppose to be over soon, I hope they had a good time." Rarity responded with a delightful smile "I'll show a picture when we get home."

And thus she started digging again. Several seconds later, another gemstone appeared, a red cuprite of a rather uneven form. Rarity took it up and dusted it off, as she noticed something on it. Was this it?  
The red was intense and fiery, while black cracks ran along its surface, making out a rough, jittery shape of a heart in the middle. Yes, it definitely resonated well with the smith, it was hot and determined, but also fragile as well, it fit a pony like Agate. The problem was that it was a cuprite, a gemstone hardly ever used in jewelcrafts for its poor quality. To put it back or to keep it, that was the question.

"Agate." Rarity turned around "Please accept this gem as a form of apology." she told her, handing it to the ebony mistress. Her eyes sparkled up seeing the little heart shape in the middle, but she was modest.

"You really shouldn't have, Rares." she said, after taking a look at every side of the little gem that was half the size of her hoof.

"Shh, don't even think of starting it over again." Rarity told her, with a little giggle afterwards. Agate put away the gift in Rarity's bag and the two bound together with a warm hug. Rarity's skin was so soft and smooth for her friend, while Agate seemed the opposite, a bit more rough, a strange feeling for both mares. Eventually, they broke the bond and were facing towards one another again.

"Then it is decided, thank you." Agate said once more, as she took the lead back to Ponyville. Knowing where they came from, and that was pretty much the only road there, it was easy.

"Anytime darling." Rarity replied "You know, I planned to start making the dress today, but it's too late for that, so how about going to that Spa Weekend you were so interested about?" she suggested.

Agate couldn't help but burst out in giggles, if only Rarity would have known she spent all day there yesterday. She went into it, of course. Agate asked for a bottle of water for a bit of a drink as the unicorns headed home.

 

~~~

 

After a quick lunch of salads to keep them in shape (and really, who can eat warm food in such heat?), Rarity decided to show her friend something. She opened the wardrobe in the living room and took out a square piece of wood. A picture of the family in a dark, wooden frame.

"The whole family." Rarity said with a warm look as Agate took a look at it from her left. Though it didn't last too long until the seamstress grew a frown and looked away. "I must admit it's not the best photo we have though."

And, oh boy, Agate saw why, she barely could withhold the laughter. On the top left corner, Rarity's mom with a light lavender coat and a purple-blue mane, but moreover, a grin that Agate does usually when she is having a mad idea. Big, clearly unnatural and a bit of creepy. Her hoof laying on the shoulder of her little daughter Rarity, who just couldn't look into the camera, but in disappointment stared at the ground at her right corner, as if she'd think _"The things I'm putting up with."_

On the right, a macho white stallion with an awesome mustache and a straw hat, smiling a little as he waved to the camera with one hoof and did the best thing ever in the other. Below him was Sweetie Belle, her right eye socket raised, crossed eyes shrunk as the leg of the stallion wrapped around her, like if she was being crushed from his sheer force. It was hilarious.

Rarity put it away in shame as the other unicorn kept snickering.

"Shall we take our way to the park, then?" she asked after a small coughing, to get away from the topic as soon as possible. Something told Agate that the seamstress didn't have that good relation with her parents, if not a hate, just a bit of inconvenience because their differences.

"Fine for me." Agate replied, still grinning a little bit, but already getting over the matter.

"One more thing I want to show you, dear, come." Rarity told her, waving her hooves towards herself as a sign of following "I know one more thing other than finding jewels."

She lead her friend upstairs, then stopped her in front of the entrance of her room.

"I'll be right back." she said, as she entered the room alone, closing it behind her.   
Agate wondered what was it this time, as the unicorn behind the door kept humming sweet melodies. The sound of the shelves being pulled out and pushed back was heard randomly at times, and a minute or two the door opened.   
Rarity stepped out, her mane tied back into a gigantic nest of curls in the back, as her eyes were shaded by a pair of glasses with jarring, dark red frames that brought out her beautiful azure blue rims and eye shadows even more.

"Well, how is it?" she asked in a rather seductive look in her eyes. Agate's face turned red from the sight. Rarity was looking more than good. Yet still, the mare modestly undershoot with the simple answer: "Charming."

"Here, I bought one for you too." Rarity told her, as she levitated similar glasses of blue from behind her, putting them on her friend. It didn't look as good on Agate, but it didn't matter much. It was time to show her secret powers in its full glory.

 

~~~

 

Rarity set her glasses a bit lower on her nose and opened the door, winking back with a sly smile at Agate who stayed close behind her.   
She locked the door, putting the keys in her reticule as they headed towards the park, Rarity in the lead, Agate next to her but a step behind on her right.

Rarity's stroll was confident, with the same devilish, sassy smile and look on her face that looked forwards. She had a slight sway her hips with each step to make her tail swing just a little bit.   
Only then did Agate notice that uncomfortable feeling they were being watched, but after all, this was the point. Stallions passing by looked back, the ones on the side changing their attention sometimes forgetting about their open mouth. Agate kept eyeing the scenery in front and in her side, when a huge sound of someone being hit was heard from behind.

"Don't look back." Rarity told her a moment later in a high-pitched melody, her eyes aimed straight towards the road, with no distraction. Agate also knew what likely happened, maybe that cyan blue mare whom they passed by slapped the stallion who she was talking with, because he was staring at them. The angry gibberish fading from behind just confirmed that, how hilarious. Is this what being a lady came with? She could certainly live with that.

The brown catwalk reached out to the park at last and Agate was already waving at her friends.

"Good afternoon." Rarity told them, with a bit of her magic pulling up the glasses to her forehead.

"Hey girls!" Agate greeted them as well. Rarity had the urge to tell her off again, but everyone had such a good, jovial mood, she didn't to be the party popper.

"Miss Agate! Miss Rarity!" Vera replied from behind the counter.

Rarity turned to Agate "I guess since you're not into the other things, we shall have another hot bath?" she asked. There was not too much choice either, so a bath was the optimal thing.

"Oh, I'm sorry, we're having a cooling bath therapy today, not a hot one." Vera interrupted in her usual modesty.

"Yeah, the girls got the idea of a cold one when I... uh..." Agate added, overshooting her sentence once again by accident, which resulted in her awkwardly stopping with wide eyes and shrunk pupils which were seen from behind her shades as well.

"It's alright too, I can understand." Rarity giggled back at Vera, after giving her friend 'that look'. She payed for both of them and they headed into the empty pool. A little dip into the water to check its temperature, but it was no ice cold, just a tiny bit cool. A little bit later, both mares were in the refreshing water. The sun was to settle soon and hid behind the tree, so the heat of it was no source of annoyance anymore. The whole setting was perfect.

"So what were you doing here yesterday?" Rarity asked in a happy tone, though it gave off the vibe of masking something more of the opposite feeling. Agate hated this, ever since their first bigger conflict she was unusually afraid of Rarity's darker side. Even she didn't know why she couldn't just ignore it and move on as she'd usually do, there was something in the seamstress. Something that frightened her.

"Well, you know." Agate began her confession with vibrating voice stuffed with fear "I kind of passed out here from heat stroke and the girls helped me out, so I helped them out with their stuff afterwards in return." she continued, hoping her friend won't lash out at her, nor imply anything of that sort happening in the close future.

"Oh, did you now?" Rarity said, a touch of skepticism in her voice. "I suppose you learned from it."

"Yes, yes, I did." Agate replied, but she noticed some movement at a distance, somepony going down the road towards the park.

"Hey look, more guys." she told aloud, watching the light gray, slightly bulkier stallion with a cap talking with a bit thinner, similarly gray one behind the mare on the other side of the pool "Think you can seduce them too?" she asked in whispers.

Rarity turned around to take a look at them, releasing a muffled chuckle behind her lips "Why don't you give it a try?". It was no challenge for Rarity, and she wanted to see the smith giving a try at it as well. She had all she needed, she was just yet to know about it.

"Me?!" Agate whispered "But you're the hot stuff."

"Trust me, you can do it." Rarity whispered, as she swam next to the other mare "Just let them look at you first, not backwards."   
The stallions were awfully close by that time, it was now or never.   
Agate took a deep breath and with a deep sigh, she emerged from the pool, leaning back on her flank to the side of the pool as she stared to her right into the streets of the town. Rarity switched to submarine mode, sinking deep enough so her jaw and above were out from the liquid.   
Soon, she had the urge to look at the guys once more, and they were both watching her pretty close up.

"The glasses." Rarity whispered as a hint from below. Agate had a panic reaction, but calmed down fast and handled it like Rarity would. She raised her right hoof, and aligned a little bit downwards to have it partially reveal her sassy irises of amethyst, just a little bit, as a honeyed string.

It worked, they got the bait! The two guys waving and wagging their eyebrows, the bulky one even letting out a little whistle. Time to put the cherry on the top, Rarity also joined her friend, leaning on her front hooves, showing off the back of her marvelous body. She already had her glasses set accordingly and gave that seductive look too.  
The guys stopped in place to adore the sight of the two, whispering about things better left untold, yet still giving off signs of flirting at times. Rarity's right eye moved as lightning to give off a cheeky wink, that made both guys give off an "Ooh!" and bombard her with inviting body language.

After growing bored of them, Rarity giggled softly once more as she returned back into the pool to have the water cover her neck again, Agate following her after a bit of waving.

"See, I had no doubt in you." Rarity giggled "Just don't hold them for long, these kind of ones won't ever break the contact unless you do." she laughed, along with Agate, who could proudly state that she was able to seduce somepony for once.

"I can't believe it. This was so cool." she said in an astonished manner "Never knew hooking up guys was that easy."

"See? You're a beautiful mare, Aggy." Rarity told her, placing her hoof one her friend's shoulder once more, a feeling that meant so much for the smith, "I'm pretty sure a lot of guards are actually interested in you behind the scenes."

"Hello ladies." a masculine voice was heard from somewhere. It was the buxom guy from before, coming back for more. Naturally, his presence took Rarity by surprise as she backed off with a loud gasp as she used her hooves to cover her... chest?

"Mind if I join?" he added in a teasing manner.

"In matter of fact, yes, we do mind Jug." Rarity replied in a frustrated voice.

"What's up bulky?" Agate said, her voice full of excitement.

"Hey cutie, you have good taste for wine, right?" the stallion asked with an inviting gaze.

"Jug!" Rarity screamed madly.

"Alright, alright, I'm out." the stallion replied with resent, but still leaned towards the other mare for a quick whisper "Saddle street 14.". Then he hurried to get away from the wrath of the other unicorn.

Rarity sighed up as she enveloped her body in the water again.  
"You know her Rares?" the ebony mistress asked, but the answer was pretty obvious already.

"Yes, he is Full Jug, or Juggernaut as he calls himself, an owner of pub few streets away. Also an atrocious lovelace." Rarity told with a deep, uninterested voice. It was not the first time getting into this situation with him, unfortunately.

There were nopony but them in the spa's territory anymore and Vera already started to pack up around the counter. It was time for them to go as well. The girls left the pool and dried themselves up with Rarity's towels she brought.

"Hey girls, mind if I join you?" Agate asked the beauticians, approaching them. She was glad to spend any moment with them.

"Oh, Miss Agate, we're already in your debt about yesterday." Lotus replied as she put the pillows away in her luggage.

"Agate!" Rarity shouted from behind as she was drying her mane still "Don't bother the girls while they're in the middle of something."

"I'm just trying to help." Agate shouted back "After all the stuff they put into their work for you, you could do at least this much to pay back, really.". She regretted it in an instant, her body recoiling a little bit as she prepared herself for the worst, letting out a tiny 'whoops' from her mouth even. At times like these she wished she could just put a lock on her mouth to prevent these kind of things happening.

Rarity stopped rubbing the textile against her mane. How agressive her friend turned into all a sudden, this was entirely new to her. She didn't tell everything, the seamstress felt, but she decided to go with the flow this time, maybe the answer will reveal itself.

"I guess you are right." she sighed, turning to the earth pony "Miss Lotus, is there anything we can help with."

"Oh dear, Miss Rarity, this is so kind of you." Lotus replied "We'd need to bring these back, could you help us taking in a bed and the counter? We can bring in the rest ourselves."

"I'll take the pool then!" Agate shouted. She couldn't wait to lift that gigantic thing, and she already attempted to move it, but Aloe interrupted.

"Wait, I'll just empty it first." the beautician told her, as she opened a tiny hatchway in the other side, resulting in the water to pour out onto the flowerbeds behind. Then she closed it back afterwards. To no one's surprise, Agate could lift it up without any difficulties this time, in fact, she could swear this was lighter than the beds. That was quite disappointing, she wanted a real challenge now. So with a witty idea, she put in all the little things, coolers, luggages, and others too.

 

~~~

 

Burdened with the equipment, the mares slowly but surely reached the spa's building. Taking in the beds were relatively easy compared to the huge, wooden pool, that needed to be rollen in on its side. However, with time and a bit of puzzle-solving skills, everything was back in its place.

"Well, with that being done" Rarity said aloud, wiping down some sweat with an exhale "I think we'll be on our way, then." she said, targeting the front door.

"Well, then see you girls." Agate added, resigning with the though Rarity wanted to get out as fast as possible.

"Please wait!" Lotus shouted, looking at Aloe with a nod, who quickly rushed behind the counter for something.

"Miss Agate, for all your kindness and help towards us, please accept this gift from the Day Spa." Lotus added, strolling towards the mustard unicorn with her eyes and voice dripping from gratitude. Meanwhile Aloe also returned and joined her, holding something out towards her. It was a white robe with a beautiful collar of a golden color, just like Rarity's. On the robe stood a capital "A" letter, proud and strong, simple, straightforwards and rock solid, unlike the elegant and thin "R" that is on her friend's. It looked simply marvelous.

"W-what?" Rarity said as her left eye twitched a little bit.

"Oh, Celestia, a custom robe!" shouted Agate in joy, moved by the gesture inside so much.

"It comes with the membership, along with different discounts and special VIP privileges and services." Aloe explained, as Agate took the robe and tried it on.

"W-what?!" Rarity repeated.

"Ooh, thank you, thank you Aloe!" Agate screamed as she jumped to the pink pony and gave her a cuddle in her beautiful, custom dress. "Thank you too, Lolo." she told the other one, repeating it with the other pony as well. She just looked so happy, she kept laughing and hugging the beauticians one by one. Rarity was still baffled about how that happened, but seeing how happy her friend was and knowing she helped and befriended with them was enough for now to grow a delightful smile on her cheeks.

Agate took off her gift and folded it together, giving it back to Lotus. "Thank you girls, you're the best friends I could wish for, along with Rares." she added. With that, it was time to return home at once. The sun already hid behind the hills.

The twins saw them off as they kept waving and waving and waving until they truly disappeared.

"I don't really understand." Rarity told her "In what way did you help them to earn the membership?"

"Well, after I passed out and they nursed me back on the spot, I decided to stay and help them out all day the way I could." Agate confessed "Why, how did you earn your membership?"

"Well.... One time I overheard them talking about closing off the spa because the lack of funds. So, I donated the entire income of one of my collections to the spa." Rarity explained. "I think the idea of such facility in a semi-rular town like Ponyville is a great one, everypony deserves a little relaxation once, not just big city ponies."

"This explains why you weren't talking with them too much."

"And it explains why you kept chit-chatting with them all the time."

The two unicorns began giggling now that everything was clear for them. Though their actions were completely different, in the core, both mistresses were driven by the same thing: Generosity. Yet, for some reason, deep inside Agate felt she can thank this all to Rarity.


	12. You're one to talk

A new day meant new experiences, and Agate was just to receive them along with her ivory friend by her side. The two unicorns were heading towards Octavia to proceed with the Agate's rapid course, in their own gentle pace, letting the fresh morning winds truly wake them up.

Though the smith's posture was far from perfect still, this day they planned to care about the other notable fault in her, the vocabulary... or rather, the lack of it. Of course, all but the smith herself knew about it.

"I just hope she won't try to teach me how to choose from five hundred forks like in that dumb movie." Agate laughed, recalling an old, childhood memory of hers. That was something completely pointless in her eyes.

Rarity's left eye twitched a bit from anger as she faked a chuckle back, for that is one of her favorites, but instead of going on a hour-long rant about how fascinating that film is she just eradicated the hatred with a deep exhale.

"There will be no need for that, dear, we're just going to add a few words to your dictionary." she giggled back. It was the day Agate went to Mayor Mare to ask about a housing agent (hopefully without forgetting it this time), as well as renting the nearby workshop for the night. Though why the smith would began her part of the dress that late at the time of day was a mystery to her. She had her trust in her friend still, no matter what wacky idea she came up with.

Rarity knocked gently, but the door was opened by somepony else than Octavia, a white unicorn with a jagged blue mane and purple eyes.

"Hello?" she whispered, which could already answer where is Octavia, but the ivory one asked for confirmation regardless.

"Morning Vinyl! We're looking for Octavia." she replied with similar volume, but not in whispers. Rarity knew her, though not as much as the other mare, but Vinyl was a nice girl. In fact, the bond between the two musicians had surprising similarities of the one between Rarity and Agate.

"She's still asleep." the unicorn replied "She burnt herself out yesterday." she added. By that, she meant practiced too much for some reason. Vinyl often used the slang whether she noticed it or not, but that was not much of a bother to anypony.

"Wait, I know you! You're DJ Pon-3!" Agate told the white mare, for her mild surprise. "I've got one of your megamixes on tape." she whispered in excitement, allowing a tiny, squeaky noise to leave her mouth.

"Cool!" the DJ replied in the same manner "Which one?" she asked. She had many of those little cassettes, each one mixing different genres, that was the way she became wide-spread and famous. From electronic music in the clubs to fancy ambient in fashion shows, this mare could put the songs one after another like nopony else.

"The Disco/Prance House Mix."

"That is my favorite too."

Suddenly, an adorable yawn interrupted their conversation from behind.   
"Vinyl, why didn't you wake me up, you know Rar-" however it fell into silence soon as Octavia noticed that Rarity was already here. Her mane was a total mess, her eyes filled with wrinkles shot open from shock. She had to act fast, but it was already late for her.

She only said a tiny sentence before leaving "One minute."

A gentle smile formed on Rarity's face, signing the earth pony to go ahead. She knew well appearance was important and that mistakes like this could happen, it was not something to make a big fuss about. Just let go and not talk about it. Sadly, it was easier said than done. Tavia hurried to the bathroom to get herself ready as soon as she could, her gallops echoing through the building. Meanwhile, Agate and Vinyl returned to their discussion.

"You know, I planned to make some noise for tonight in the workshop outside town." she explained "I can't work without some music so I thought we might throw a party down there." Agate always worked with music, it made her move and kept her calm, making the hard work truly enjoyable.

"If you want a party, you might want to see Pinkie Pie, that girl knows how to make the best of that stuff." Vinyl advised, as a sound of a door opening was heard from afar.

"Pinkie Pie?" Agate asked back. The name was pretty catchy, but not something all that party-related. More like... food-related.

"Yeah, her name pretty much speaks for itself." Vinyl explained to the confused unicorn "She is pink and curvy all over, hard to miss her."

The two kept conversing to kill time, and Rarity listened. What she heard, however was not something she was keen on, especially because she always worked within silence, and she just couldn't really imagine working in the middle of a party. It seemed very fishy, but again, Agate already proved her point a few couple ago.

The door behind opened then closed once more.  
"Alright, I'm back." Octavia shouted as she stepped out, neat and tidy. She was quite quick.

"Well, I guess I'll leave you to work." Vinyl stepped aside not to bother them anymore, after all, her roommate already told her everything about what they were up to. She made one hoof-pump with Agate and waved to Rarity before heading back upstairs.

Octavia still kept setting her mane as she approached them. "I'm so sorry, I practiced all night and I overslept."

"Oh it's all fine, my dear, it isn't the end of the world." Rarity, replied with a petty swing of her hoof to get over this topic. "Shall we get started?"

"Absolutely." Octavia replied, turning over to the other unicorn "Agate? Are you prepared to learn how to talk like a lady."

"I'm ready for anything." she responded in a determined yet wicked, low pitched voice. The two smiled at her, knowing that if she puts herself to it, she can succeed. Tavia signed to follow her over to the sofa where they began.

 

~~~

 

"The first rule is very simple. Hopefully Rarity didn't need to teach you the hard way." Octavia told the smith as she sat down on the far right end of the furniture.

"Why, what's the hard way?" Agate asked, taking her place next to her, thus sitting between the two ladies. Even though the sofa was big, Agate did not let her body lose itself and sit straight instead of leaning around or something.

"The Soap." they replied in the exact same time, which kind of surprised all of them, but not enough to make a clear sign of it. From that point Agate could guess what it was, but she chose to remain quiet and let them tell it.

"First rule is: No swearing!" Rarity pointed out, as she made herself comfortable. She laid down on her belly, using her hooves as pillows like a model, for the remaining part of the sofa was quite large.

"The second rule is not to be vague." The bassist explained "Try to use longer and more descriptive sentences." she added, gently whirling her hooves around once as a gesture.

Agate nodded for she understood it all, however what she said afterwards seemed quite contradicting.   
"So to explain stuff."

"In your words, yes, but keep in mind we don't need those now." Rarity explained as she took her curly mane out of her field of view with the hoof she didn't use as a pillow at that "Mind if I give us a demonstration, Tavia?" she asked over to her other friend.

"That'd be most pleasant, Rarity." chuckled back Octavia as she got where her friend was going with it.

The two let out a tiny giggle before Rarity switched back her attention to the unicorn "Alright, it's your turn Aggy."

"Wait, what about the demonstration?" she asked in confusion. Of course, the two called it happening already in themselves, but it still was hilarious regardless.

"This was the demonstration, dear. Try to copy how we were talking." Rarity smiled back as she sat up, showing some genuine interest in what her friend was to come up with.

"I see." Agate replied with playful joy, as she went silent to gather her thoughts for a few seconds.

"Is this the... correct way of speaking?" she asked. Her words seemed off and the sentence was quite outlandish but it was a good start.

"Quite good for first." Rarity giggled in herself as she wrapped her closer hoof around the neck of her friend "It may sound weird at first but you'll get used to it with time."

Agate nodded, she had her faith in the unicorn, and while she still didn't like her as much as others, she also trust Octavia as well.

"Now let's try to take out that nasty 'stuff' of your habits, alright, darling?" Rarity winked, patting the mustard coated's back. For some reason, that magical word always had a positive effect on Agate. She didn't know for what reason, in fact, nopony did, but as long as it worked she could care less.

"Okay." she replied with a gentle nod. She looked so unloyal to that word in a sudden, as if Rarity would have seduced her from her signature word. Considering her charm, it might just as well happened.

 

~~~

 

Hours passed with the three of them practicing and roleplaying different situations. Both Octavia and Rarity were going easy on the newcomer, and while Agate did show progress she still left out huge spaces whenever she stopped to think of a fitting word that was not "stuff". After a good time of talking, the grandfather clock signed the twelve 'o clock, which they decided on finishing this session.

Octavia patiently waited till the device finished its words before turning towards her friends.   
"Well, it seems our time is up." she noted, still carrying on the fancy speaking regardless.

Agate looked at Rarity, who just kept waiting with a smug grin and warm look back at her, signing it is the smith's turn. Rarity was proud of her friend, Agate did not fight against them, making the entire process a whole lot easier.

"Yes, unfortunately. It was very... it was a pleasure." Agate replied, but when Rarity poked her side a bit with a little coughing she knew she forgot something.

"Thank you very much." she added, making both of them nod in approval. She was far from perfect, but it was not a small journey.

"You've been doing quite fine, darling." Rarity complimented her progress. "I see that canterlotian blood of yours begins to surface." she added.

Agate turned from cheerful to sad in a whim.  
"Yeah." she replied, as she turned her eyes away, standing up from the furniture. Rarity felt guilty, she might have triggered something inside that she should not have, reminding Agate where she belongs still. Those chains that were still there but forgotten during the great time she had here.

"Is something wrong?" Octavia asked, baffled from the sudden emotional change of the smith. Of course, she did not know her far as much as Rarity did.

"No, it's alright." Agate shook her head, changing her frown back to a smile. One that screamed lies towards the seamstress and the musician, who also stood up.

Octavia seen off the girls through the room, up until the door Rarity opened with a small burst of her magic that painted her smooth white horn with a light blue hue.

"Tomorrow, then?" she turned back to Octavia, who gave them a gentle nod before a small "Farewell." left her mouth.

"Au revoir!" Rarity said back, her words beautiful but completely meaningless towards the other unicorn, so much in fact she couldn't help but take a spicy note on it.

"Bless you!" Agate replied, much to the irritation of her friend, who couldn't help but groan behind her muzzle a little bit.   
But she already knew her comeback.

"So, what was about that party you were planning so secretly with Vinyl?" she asked with a teasing tone, taking Agate by surprise.

"Oh, that?" she asked back in nervousity "I just, you know, can't work when there is no music and stuff going on so..." she explained, sweating, as the two was walking back home to get a bite to eat.

"So?" Rarity demanded more, just torturing the smith's nerves even further with her questions.

"So I thought we might make a little party for it. Go big or go home, you know the saying, hehe." she giggled even more frustrated that Rarity might explode like a bomb without a timer.

"Yet you didn't even invite your friend?" Rarity asked back, just pretending she didn't noticed the flawed logic behind the mare's plans. Agate also knew this, and it just frightened her even more.

"Oh... well, uh... we were a little busy this morning and I... but I was to invite you when we got home, I swear." the smith blabbered, running low on already see-through excuses.

Rarity eventually had enough of playing, she stopped right there, and with a huge sigh she let out from her mouth she put her right hoof on the neck on her friend.

"Aggy, you're one of my closest friend, I let you stay at us, I convinced Tavia to help us, I have all my faith in you about this matter." she explained, her voice taking a much darker turn to it "However, should you take advantage of this just to freely hang out in Ponyville without responsibilities..." she did not finish it, she couldn't, just a long silent stare and another sigh came. She had no clue what she would done with her, but maybe it was better this way. Maybe it was the best not wondering about this.

Agate kept staring right through the azure windows of her friend for long moments before she replied.

"No... no you aren't. You wouldn't be saying this if you were." she explained, her voice monotone and still, so alien from her, almost creepy. But before Rarity could respond to this fine observation, Agate grabbed her hoof that laid on her neck and took a hold of it with both her front limbs as if she was about to engage her.

"Rarity, I won't get any rest tonight until that plate is done for you, even if without music, I promise." she told the seamstress, her voice now much more determined, the fire in her eyes blazing with passion and belief. It was a sight that rekindled the flames of faith in the seamstress... temporarily. It reminded Rarity of something, a lesson she learned just a couple days ago, yet still, despite all the evidence, she simply was unable not to think of the worst case.

"Alright." Rarity replied as she took her hoof out of the grab of Agate, as the two continued her way home. It took them just a minute or two in the beautiful summer afternoon, and the unicorns already could feel the sensation of being home again.

"So, what'd you like to eat?" Rarity asked in a now more carefree melody as she sauntered over to the cupboard. Though she was not the best cook in the world, far from that, both of them knew that practice makes perfect. Besides, Rarity usually never made food so bad that it was inedible.

 

~~~

 

The clock's ticking was near inaudible in one of the local shops, its sound fading into the noise of the customers chatting inside. Whether it were compliments about the sweets baked there, or just the local everyday gossips, there was always something to talk about in here, and the Sugarcube Corner was one of the best places for that.

"Here you go, Junebug, a horseshoe cake for Shoeshine." a pink pony shouted in a high pitch as she laid a horseshoe-shaped treat covered in vanilla on the till, then packed it up in a box and wrapped it up at the speed of light.

"Thank you Pinkie, I'm sure she is going to love it." Junebug replied, as she took the pink ribbon of the yellow box and put it into her basket by the side. "You're so kind, doing all of these preparations for one pony."

"Because Shoeshine is my friend, just like everypony in town, and I always help celebrating the birthdays of my friends." Pinkie explained with glee, her voice as happy as always. This kind of reminded them that Pinkie actually did know everypony's birthday date, but how she could do that was something neither could explain.

"It's good to have you here Pinkie, I hope we can see you too in the workshop tonight." June responded, as she turned back to take her leave. Pinkie Pie had that gift of making one be able to feel happiness once again even in the most sever cases.

"I sure will." Pinkie shouted after her, as the two kept waving before the yellow pony walked through the saloon door, almost bumping into a mustard coated unicorn on the street. But eventually, after trying to get around one another in the same direction and a hearty laugh, they both could continue on their ways unscratched.

Agate was heading towards the Mayor's office, now that she put down her plans about the half-work-half-party, it was time to check up on that real estate agent already. Loud bangs of the clock tower were heard in a distance, it might have been half past two, or half to two. She couldn't tell from the sound alone, and the houses were covering the vision towards it.

The longer she trotted down the street the more things she recognized. This made her quite happy, actually, she had no idea she already got this familiar with Ponyville. Still, many faces were unknown here, but those could wait.

The town hall was bigger than other buildings, but even up close, it was average at best compared to the ones she got used to in Canterlot. A sudden breeze of homesickness touched her soul, but she was quick to rid herself of it before it could take hold.   
She took a deep breath and stepped in. What she found inside, however, was not something she expected. Many, many curtains of different colors and images covered the windows, two circle shaped balcony was seen on the two sides, with a stage in the middle with two layers of large curtains, back in the end of the wooden building. The whole complex look like some sort of mini-theatre, just without seats. It sure didn't look like there was any office in here, though, that white pony with gigantic, thick, black glasses and the other, beige one with the collar might come just in handy for a bit of information.   
She gathered up her thoughts before approaching them then cleared her throat before speaking up.

"Excuse me!" she said as she walked up to them "I'm looking for the mayor."

"I am the mayor, Mayor Mare." the beige one introduced herself, leaving her partner behind a little bit so they can shake hooves "We haven't met before, can I help you?"

Agate began to panic inside hearing this little piece of information, but she remained calm, thinking what Rarity'd do. After all, she expected the mayor to be here, and, well, there she was.

"I am looking for a... housing agent." she replied, though her answer fell a bit short for her, it did the job.

"Moving in, I see." Mayor Mare responded, a glint of joy appearing in her eyes "We do not have an actual real estate agent, but I am the one responsible for housing, please follow me to my office." she added, turning towards the other earth pony.

"Raven, could you get the archives for me, please?" she asked her. Raven was certainly an interesting name for her, one would expect somepony to be more darker and menacing with such name. She nodded and hurried towards the stage.

Mayor guided Agate behind the third, black and closed layer of curtains and through a door, where her office was found, a classic themed room with the same color as hers, with a big wooden table with two chairs, an old-looking pillow on each. On the left and right, tons of steel cabinets for the different folders, each labeled with a yellow note, Raven was looking inside one.

"Take a seat, please. Didn't think I quite caught your name before, what was it again?" Mayor Mare asked, as she took her place behind the desk and made herself comfortable.

Agate was overwhelmed by the fear that she messed it up, despite they didn't even talk more than a sentence, but she tried to keep calm regardless.

 _'Alright, alright, not a big deal, just a little mistake, so fix it!'_  she thought in panic, putting herself together and handling the situation like a professional.

"Agate, I'm sorry I forgot to... introduce myself properly." she apologized towards the mayor.   
Raven put a yellow folder on the desk then let the two have their talk after Mayor Mare thanked her.

"Oh, no problem, really." Mayor responded, as she opened the document and looked at its contents Agate didn't make heads or tails out of.

"What sort of new property do you have in mind, Miss Agate?" she asked, as she allowed her eyes to land on the unicorn once again. She sounded so professional it made the smith feel a bit awkward.

"Oh, well, I didn't really... take that into... consideration, maybe something simple and quiet." she explained, scratching her chin while thinking "See, I'm to move from Canterlot to Ponyville hopefully, that's why I'm here to... inquire about how much... about the prices." she added, trying her best to be as formal as possible.

"The big city life wasn't your style, correct?" the mayor giggled as she took a peak into the papers in front of her. "Well, we do have a home in the eastern outskirt of town, a cozy little cot which have been on sale since not quite long." she described. Agate's cogs started grinding. Eastern, which meant the rising sun could wake her early. But since it was better than in the middle of Ponyville, she could put up with that. Still best was if she could check it out herself.

"Is there a... possibile way for me to see it myself before buying it?" she asked with a bit more confidence. Now that she saw the mayor not being that serious but actually rather loose, yet still formal, she felt quite relieved and less afraid of a possible mistake she might make.

"Naturally, there is. We can fill out a form and you are free to take a look around with Raven if you'd like to." the Mayor replied, much hope and enthusiasm reflecting in her eyes, as if she couldn't wait to sell the property. She reached for the drawer by her side where she stored all these papers required.

"That would be the best." Agate responded "Just one more question, how much does it cost?"

Mayor did not really expect this, and quickly put down the form back to the drawer to take a look back into the documents.   
"Well, it is 4500 bits, but I'm sure a refined canterlotian like yourself can afford it." she complimented, trying to keep her hopes high about the topic, as the events seemed to take a wrong turn.

Agate turned white, the 5000 bit grand prize from the competition was to be halved between her and Rarity, and she was still short on money, even with her savings. The dream to move to Ponyville slipped out from her grasp in a flash.

"Would you like to fill that form, then?" Mayor asked for confirmation, as she noted Agate's reaction towards the last sentence. She knew not to take emotions as words, and awaited for a response, even if she most likely had to put up with not selling the property.

The smith nodded quietly, and waited until the beige one signed and sealed the contract, passing it to the unicorn who also signed it. Then the two repeated the process once again, so one of the form would stay at Agate, the other at Mayor Mare, who put it away in a different drawer of her table.

"Please follow Raven and she'll take you around." she stated, as she gave the unicorn the document, who rolled it up and put it away.

"Which property would it be?" Raven asked, her voice was kind and warm, even though her sentence seemed a bit too straightforward.

"The one at Hay Row 13." she explained, Raven nodded and signed Agate to follow her, leading the way. Though something seemed to worry her about it. Only the way out did Agate notice all the equipment behind the black curtain, cardboard trees and houses, as well as puppets and masks from the last play. It seemed this place did act as some sort of theatre after all.

 

~~~

 

Raven remained quiet the whole way onwards, even when it took several minutes. Apparently, she wasn't the talkative kind of pony. The two kept strolling down the streets with soft steps, bypassing many faces. It took them around ten minutes reaching the outskirts where the houses became more and more of a rare sight. Yet still, they just kept going on and on and on.

"Here we are." she spoke up once they reached the building. A small, lonely house by the grassy road that only had a couple bushes around it, as well as a huge apple orchard facing towards it in a distance. Unlike other houses in Ponyille, however, this had only one floor, and was about twice as much longer than the average flat, though its style remained the same.

Raven took out the key and put them in its place, but hesitated to turn it a little bit, as if she was scared to go inside. Regardless, the ponies entered, and the white one let the customer take a look around while she patiently decided to wait her up by the door.

Wooden floor and walls of off-white welcomed them. There were no furniture, only a hall filled with cobwebs and dust in its corners. Though some things like the basins stayed, indicating where the old kitchen and bathroom might have been.

There were so many possibilities in a house like this, and Agate could already image where the kitchen, the bathroom, the bedroom and the workshop would go. Though the living room probably had to be sacrificed for the smith's store, there was plenty of time to think about it.

After she looked around, she returned to her fellow. Yes, this house would do.  
"How is it?" Raven asked up and straight as expected.

"Quite good, actually, I like its simplicity. I need some more time to think about it, though, if that isn't problem." Agate replied.

"Not at all, please, take your time." the secretary responded, as they left the abandoned cottage and she closed and locked the door.

"So, was that all?" Agate asked in confusion, not knowing what's next.

"Yes, we're done here, I'll take back the keys to the Mayor, you can follow me if you wish but it is not necessary it all." Raven explained leading the way back to town. Suddenly she became much more outgoing now that this was over, was she silent because of the house? The smith had no idea.

"Well, I do have a few more things to do, so I guess I'll just stick to the 'Goodbye.'" the unicorn responded as the two walked back the road they came from.

"Farewell." Raven replied, as the two split ways at the first crossroads nearby.

 

~~~

 

There was just one thing left on her list, asking the local horseshoe maker, Shoeshine to lend her her workshop for a little bit. If she got the permission, all she needed to do was to get all the stuff there from the boutique.

Her home wasn't far away, to tell the truth, which made the house she just visited even better of a place. A neighbor of almost the same specialty might come really handy, even if by "neighbor" she meant the closest house in two minutes of striding.

There it was, the gigantic horseshoe was hard to miss, it was a tall building just by the river that was running next to the town, however, it was located on the outer side unlike the other houses.

As Agate approached it, she began revising the map she made in her head. The boutique was on the western part of town, the apple farm was South, on the hill, the town hall obviously in the middle, by the river, and east from there, going along the river was Shoeshine's from where she only needed to turn once to the left and go east to get to her future home. That was quite a distance from Rarity, actually, but considering that the whole town could be stepped through in fifteen or twenty minutes, it didn't bother her all too much.

Noises of ponies came from inside, she must have had a lot of customers. She knocked on the door. Silence.... It took a few moments until a pink pony filled with curls opened it at a snail's pace.

"Hello?" Agate asked, completely baffled about what is happening.

"Quick! Get in before she notices us." the mare grabbed her hoof, dragging her in with a swift move.

Agate's confusion quickly disappeared soon as she was inside. Party balloons and an enormous rag saying "Happy Birthday!" was welcoming her, along with lots of quiet ponies hiding. Everything was clear now, and not to ruin it, she decided to go along with the surprise, following the pink pony behind the sofa.

Minutes seemed to pass until the door opened once more, as everypony popped out of her place, yelling "Surprise!". Only then Agate noticed the azure and white pony, who just dropped a bag from her mouth by the shock. Her cutie mark was two intersecting horseshoes, she must have been Shoeshine.   
As she just stood there, the singing began.

"Happy birthday to you!  
Happy birthday to you!  
Happy birthday dear Shoeshine!  
Happy birthday to you!"

This was already enough to move her soul, as she began wiping her tears while the ponies charged at her, each of them giving a warm hug. Agate didn't really hurry, however, she let the mint green, the beige, the pink and the dark purple one in front of her, each of them conversing a tiny before they shared two pecks of the cheek with Shoeshine.

Then, when it was Agate's turn, the skyblue pony grew a bit uncomfortable. She never seen her before, and her eyes already asked the obvious question: "Do I know you?"

"Shoeshine?" Agate raised her hoof, the two shaking it "We need to talk a bit, if that's okay."

"Sure?" she replied, utterly confused about this whole situation.

"I'll let you just finish it with the others first." Agate replied, standing out of the way and let the other smith finish what has been started.

Though this whole thing seemed extremely unfortunate for her, Agate knew there might be that chance to get two flies in on hit, so she stayed to try her luck. She had to, she made Rarity a promise, and the seamstress had her trust in her, something she worked ever so hard for.

After being done, Shoeshine turned back to Agate, her voice echoing from curiosity and a bit of frustration.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I'm Agate, a smith from Canterlot who moved here for a while, and I'd like to ask if I could... rent your workshop for a little until I get an order done." Agate explained, trying to be as formal as she could. "I have most of the tools and materials, so it's pretty much just the anvil and furnace, really."

"You mean, right now?" Shoeshine replied in surprise.

"Well, I thought so, though I didn't think you'd have a birthday today."

"Sure, I guess. I won't use it today anyway." the azure one answered as she gazed over to a door that most likely lead there. "But are you sure you can work with all this noise and music?" she asked.

"Oh that won't be a problem, I always listen to music while working." Agate giggled. "If you don't mind, I'll run home and get all the stuff. Will be back in about fifteen minutes." she responded with a jovial expression"Thank you very much."

"You're welcome."

And like that, she ran away. Though she certainly was strange, there was something in Agate that Shoeshine liked, maybe her loose personality or that they share a job, she could not put a hoof on in.

Even though Rarity was not home, she didn't lock the door so Agate could grab everything she needed and headed back to the party, where Shoeshine already expected her and pointed her over to the workshop. It was smaller than what she was used to, but it got the job done and that was all that mattered.

 

~~~

 

Meanwhile, an ivory unicorn was taking her stroll though the park. Her mind was bugging her again about Agate, and how much she can trust her, but every time she wanted to hush away these irritating thoughts, they just became even more intense, until to the point where she needed to go outside for some fresh air.

Yet despite the wonderful fragrance of daisies and dandelions, the thought did not give in. It stick to her mind and did not let it go. Evidently, the seamstress sighed up and surrendered to her curiosity. It was time to check on Agate.

The closer she was to Shoeshine's home to faster her pacing became even though she did not notice it. She must had proof, she needed to be sure that her friend is not slacking around, otherwise the thought would have driven her insane. There it was, the house, slowly getting closer and closer, yet, as soon as Rarity heard the beats of the bass coming from there she began to run. She ran, faster and faster, the fear overwhelming her mind. It couldn't be. There had to be something behind it, something different.

She knocked on the door as if she'd want to punch through it, resulting in a beige coated mare with blue in pink curls opening it.

"Yes? Good evening." she greeted her, a bit baffled but still confident.

"Good evening, Sweetie. I'm looking for a mare, unicorn, has a coat of mustard and purple mane just like Heartstrings'." Rarity blabbered, as if her friend would have gone missing.

"The new girl? She's been in the forge for quite a while, I don't know what she is doing but it's loud." Sweetie Drops replied, pointing towards the door on her left she saw the mare in question settling in with huge sheets of metal and various tools a while ago.

Rarity forgot to thank her, for she hurried so much, yet when her hoof laid down on the knob, she turned it ever so slowly, opening the door just enough to have a peek inside.

There was her, levitating two hammers she smashed down at something metallic that couldn't be seen, but instead, heard by the unicorn. Her head gently banging up and down, as the hammers struck down by the rhythm of the song that blasted through the building. Her eyes are still that passionate and adventurous as it was in the morning, as she kept smiling. She didn't notice her friend, her attention was glued to the thing she was working on. Behind her, though on the ground layed several finished pieces, only waiting for them to be put together, though it was unclear which part was supposed to go where from this angle.

Nevertheless, this was more than enough for Rarity as an evidence. Her mind found peace once again, a rare occasion indeed, but even better, she felt the faith in her friend skyrocketing, seemingly being impossible for it to stop on its own. Rarity felt unstoppable, she knew no matter what the following days have up in their sleeves, together they'll be able to overcome it, sooner or later.

She closed the door with as much care as she opened it, a relieved smile showing itself on her face that eventually turned into a little giggle when she thought about staying for the party, just to surprise Agate a little bit.

Though it was best if she had a little chat with Shoeshine about it, so she slowly and elegantly turned around, searching for the said pony.


	13. A piece of the past

The rays of the sun began smearing its orange light over everything as it emerged ever so slowly from behind the mountains. Shoeshine closed the door after the last of her guest left and let a huge yawn out that she kept in for Celestia knows how long. Then she noticed they weren't the last ones, in fact two of them was still left, the charming Rarity gazing out the window, and Agate who most likely fell asleep inside the workshop. She rarely came out all night, yet still, strange noises came from inside. As if somepony would walk, dragging a bunch of cans that was stripped to her.

The door opened inch by inch, revealing her, Agate. Dizzy, exhausted and a real nest for wrinkles, but she was awake, and this wasn't all. For most her body was covered in beautiful, shining plates of steel adorned with small, round bells of all sizes and a huge metal belt. It was stunning beyond words, and she knew it all well. She was proud of her work, it looked straight up fantastic on its own already.

"Imagine when Rarity sees this." she told her fellow smith. The door she left open however was closed by a mysterious blue aura.

"There will be no need for imagination, dear." the voice of the pony in question hit Agate's ears as the unicorn of elegance appeared next to her, with dreamy eyes that simply didn't know where to look. The sight was marvelous, and Rarity was already imagining the even more beautiful dress atop it.

"Aggy, this... this is... perfect. Just perfect." Rarity complimented, as she allowed herself to take a closer look. It was so hard to believe yet it was just in front of her. A fragment of a dream, one that was to become reality very, very soon.

"Yes, it looks wonderful." Shoeshine added, as she gazed over to Agate's face, something she couldn't say the same about.

"You should really go home, you doesn't look good at all." Shoeshine told both of them, kind of worried about the two after having no sleep at all.  
  
"I agree, I'm desperate for a beauty sleep after all this." Rarity responded after a small yawn she was unable to withhold anymore.

"Thanks Shine." the smith approached her newfound friend, doing a smaller hoofpump with her as the two giggled a bit.

The doorknob gained a faint blue tint from the magic of seamstress, as it opened as the girls bid farewell. The stars were still seen in the furthest borders of the sky on the west, however, most of them was hidden behind the enormous, black cumulus the weather pegasi was assembling. That suddenly reminded her about what she read in the papers yesterday, a reminder of the enormous rainstorm that was lasting all day long. While most ponies - especially Rarity didn't like the rain in summer, it was a necessary evil to wash away the pollen ponies might be allergic to, not to mention it was the most efficient way of watering plants and crops.

"Aggy, dear, how fast can you run in that armor of yours?" Rarity asked picking a pace from where she could easily swift into a gallop when needed, Agate following her up close.

"I don't know, haven't tried it actually. Why?" the smith replied, the steel clinging all over her, playing a random, incoherent song of its own.

"I just doubt you've made it of stainless steel." Rarity replied, pointing towards the black clouds with her eyes. Agate gazed over them and knew what she was to imply. The pegasi were fast, and the giant took shape very quickly. Soon enough they realized they have to make a run for it. Yes they definitely will need to run. The sky turned dark everywhere as the two unicorns trotted past countless houses.

The boutique seemed unreachable, and things got just even worse when a drop of liquid hit Rarity right in the face... and another... and another.

"Oh, no, please not yet!" she cried out in herself. She despised rain unless she was home, and in this case, she was far from it. The two had shifted into their highest gears, galloping down to save themselves, but they were already too late.

More and more raindrops fell from the sky and the two was exposed to them completely. They had to act fast.

"Quick! There!" Agate shouted, changing her angle of traveling towards a small bridge that connected two houses. It seemed big enough for the two to find cover under. The girls ran just there, to the very side of the house on the right, getting as much cover as they possibly could. Rarity allowed her friend a bit more cover, sacrificing a portion of her tail to the rain that already began to evolve into a blizzard.

Only the pink noise played in their ears as the two gazed around for a way out, looking at one another after the sad realization: they were trapped.

"What now?" the desperate Agate asked and loud, not to let her voice fade into the rain.

While the state of the two friends was grim, it was not entirely hopeless, and the seamstress knew that desperate situations needed desperate measures.   
"Look. Stay here and watch out for the armor, I'll run back for an umbrella and come back for you." Rarity laid it out her plan. It sounded like a way out, but it had one obvious problem.

"You can't do that! You'll get completely soaked." Agate explained, but it all fell for deaf ears.

"It's going to be fine, darling." Rarity replied, putting her hooves on the shoulder of the smith. Her eyes filled with sadness and consideration, while being dreamy, as if she'd be about to sacrifice her own life.

"No, I can't let you do that." Agate backed away a little bit, as her horn charged up an amethyst aura that enveloped her armor as well, as she tried to take it off "You already did too much."

Even though it had no sleeves or anything, slipping out of steel plate took a bit of difficulty, but it was nowhere near an actual struggle and in a few seconds it already got laid by the wall.

"Watch out for it until I get back." she told her friend, and with a deep breath of fresh air, she leaped out into the waterfall.

The cold rain gave her chills, and on top of that, it was not the kind with the big raindrops. Instead, they were small, and pierced like thousands of liquid needles. Agate's soaked mane fell into her field of view, so she brushed it aside, yet still, all that water hitting her around that part made her job no easier. It was cold, and breathing without getting water in the mouth was impossible. Every second seemed like an eternity of suffering as she ran down the streets, hitting puddles from time to time that gathered on the bumpy road. She galloped onwards when a voice shouted her name.

"Agate!"

It was a familiar voice, faint, but definitely coming from the left. It was Twilight Sparkle, in an entrance to a house that was actually a huge tree. The wind blew her mane like crazy, even there, but she didn't give up.

"Agate! Quick, over here!" she kept shouting, waving with a hoof to sign the smith to come in, while holding the door with the other one. Agate ran as fast as she could, and soon as she entered Twilight shut the door.

"Are you alright?" she asked in a worried tone, as she stepped closer.

"Yeah, but Rarity is trapped out there." Agate explained, getting straight to the point. Twilight knew her friend well enough that a storm like this is a real nightmare to the fashionista. She knew exactly what she needed, as such, her horn filled with mana as she took down the regular umbrella and the backup umbrella and handed it over to Agate.

Agate opened up the dark purple checkered one with the help of her magic, while Twilight opened the door and let the smith ahead, then step on the gas to get back to save her friend, sort of.

Rarity was delighted by the sight of a mobile cover, but as Agate got closer, the worse she looked. The cold rain and the wind made her shake, feeling about to freeze. She needed to go somewhere warm to dry herself immediately.

Rarity took hold of the dark gray umbrella and opened it up, while she levitated up the armor and get it under its cover as well. Agate knew Twilight was waiting for them, and she trotted that way as fast as she could, her body trembling and teeth chattering. Twilight was waiting for them indeed, opening the door and giving the signals just like before.

"Over here, girls!" she shouted, waiting for them to get in and shutting the wooden door immediately afterwards as well as lending the mustard one a towel she cleverly prepared in the meanwhile already.

"Thank you, Twilight." Rarity told the mulberry one, trying catch a bit of air. However, something was familiar to her. How strange.

"Y-yes, thanks." Agate replied as she kept drying herself, though still shivering from the cold "Though you sure think it's a g-good idea to stay in a t-t-tree during a storm?" she asked, with a slightly worried look on her face.

"Well, with a magical lightning rod like mine, I can assure you it is." Twilight replied, proud and confident, as this little thing of hers newer failed her once so far.

"Why do I feel so de ja wu right now?" Rarity asked herself aloud, as the thought was very frustrating. She could swear her next collection she heard this one before... but where, oh where?

"What's it Rarity? Can't remember your first slumber party here? You asked exactly the same along with Applejack." Twilight snickered to provide a little push to that fragment of the seamstress' subconscious, which then surfaced in her conscious.

It caught Rarity off guard, all the things her mind was flooded with, the rain, Twilight with her book, the games, the pillow fight, and of course the continuous arguments with Applejack. Good times.

"Oh yes. Yes, I do remember now." Rarity replied, as she let her mind wonder and take a swim in the ocean of nostalgia, her eyes crawling towards the top-left corner of the room. She laid down the steel, just by the hanger so they will have no problems finding it.

"Speaking of that, where is Storybelle?" the tailor asked, only now noting the missing presence of the co-librarian.

"She went to visit her parents in Fillydelphia, she should be home by tonight if everything goes well." Twilight responded. She has started as a mere assistant but she learned so quick it stunned everyone around her. Still, her being able to handle the library all alone after so little time of working here amazed Rarity to no end.

Twilight lead Agate to the fireplace meanwhile, though it might not have been the best idea to build a fireplace inside a tree, but the assistant surely had something for that too. She sat down by the flames to warm up, Rarity joining her a bit later on.

"Aggy, are you okay?" she asked. Agate was only out in the rain for a few minutes, yet still, this gesture felt like a must to the seamstress. Especially after seeing her friend shaking to the bone and mallow. Agate however, just nodded with a smile warm as the heat of the fire next to them.

"Remember when we made marshmallows here with you and AJ?" Twilight recalled the sweet, sweet memories, joining Rarity on the train to the past.

"I most certainly do, wish we could repeat it." Rarity giggled back, but the warmth and comfort of the flames reminded her body that it didn't have much rest for a while, erupting in another yawn.

Soon afterwards Agate started to gape too, then Twilight caught it as well. It was so early in the morning, they might as well still go back to sleep. Then, Twilight had an idea.

"You know, I still have the reserve bed if you want to sleep over." Twilight explained, her eyes glinting a bit from the joy, even though she knew the seamstress will most likely refuse out of common courtesy.

"Thank you for the offer, but I don't want to be a bother to you." Rarity refused in her usual politeness, but as another big yawn tried to escape her mouth she held it back with a hoof of hers.

"You two look like got no sleep, and the rain isn't likely to stop anytime soon." Twilight explained. She had irrefutable points, and Rarity knew withholding anymore would be just plain stubbornness and not modesty.

"Well, if you insist, I think I could get a bit of rest." the seamstress replied, getting up from next to the fireplace. Twilight signed Agate to follow her upstairs, and the three unicorns entered the bedroom with Twilight in the lead.

"Shh! Spike is still asleep." Twilight whispered, slowly opening the door. They snuck in and up the stairs, to the top where the beds were located. There he snored, the little purple dragon in his little nest of a bed.

"Aww, isn't he adorable?" Rarity asked with warm eyes as she eyed her little purple Spikey-Wikey.

"Heh, the little guy didn't grow anywhere." Agate noted phlegmatically. She was a bit disappointed, she expected Sunburn to actually raise and tame a full-grown dragon, not just keep him in his baby form her entire life. However, all she achieved with this was a part-confused, part-angry look from Rarity, along with a spicy comeback of course.

"I for one like him much more this way then an enormous, savaging beast, but each on their own." Rarity replied as she turned back towards the bed to tuck herself into the sheets.

She laid down and slid in inch by inch, she knew that feel, the touch of the blanket's fabric and the mattress. She allowed herself to let out a little moan of pleasure and relief, it felt like the old memories coming to life. Then she recalled 'that' moment.

Her eyes shot open as a reaction, looking for the smith, for there was a high possibility she might do the exact same thing Applejack did back then.

"Don't you dare jump on it." she whispered in anger, however the smith nothing as such in her mind, and she snuck in next to her friend.

As the two got closer and closer their eyes met once again, sucking one another in as a black hole. There was always, always something in there that intrigued both of them, something that kept them wondering in each others' beautiful eyes. Time seemed to slow down every time this happened.

Twilight yawned up "Well, good night girls... or, morning." she corrected herself, snapping both friends out of the stasis.

"Yes, good morning." Rarity giggled.

"Good morning." Agate added with a yawn. The sound of the rain lulled them into sleep, slowly guiding the girls into the land of the dreams as their eyelids slowly shut down.

 

~~~

 

Little bit later Rarity woke up to the booming sound of a thunderclap. While the faint noise of the rain never disturbed her dreams, the loud thunders always managed to surprise her. She climbed out of the bed towards the window to see that it was still raining like a maniac, spotting a little flash in a distance that disappeared in a blink of an eye. For how long was she asleep, was her question, as she began monitoring the room for a clock. Upon finding the little, round-shaped object on the shelf nearby showing half past eleven she stared out the window once again. It seemed nearly impossible, for the sky was tinted in such dark gray color the light of the Sun barely made through it. In fact, it looked almost as dark as when they arrived. The seamstress allowed a sigh to wonder out from her mouth, she was to finish the masterpiece today afternoon.

Then she gazed over to her sleepyhead friend. It was quite late, should she wake her up or not? After a little bit of thinking later she approached her friend, shaking her a tiny bit from behind.

"Agate! Wake up!" she whispered, slowly awakening her "It is past to twelve, we've overslept." she said a bit louder until Agate got up.

"Past twelve already?" she whined, trying to get rid of the tears and others in her eyes with the help of her hooves.

"No, just past _to_  twelve." Rarity corrected her, helping her friend up. Soon as Agate got on her hooves however, a wild groan was her from below. It was her empty tummy, they didn't have any breakfast after all, nor dinner. Still, Rarity giggled at the little sound.

The door creaked open by their side. It was a little claw opening it, slow at first, but more and more confident later on. It was Spike, with Twilight behind her.

"Rarity!" Spike said in surprise, running towards her beloved ivory mare with open arms. Rarity of course responded just the same way, as the two melted together in a warm hug.

"How is my little dragon?" Rarity asked, holding Spike thigh before parting with him.

"Oh fine, I'm fine." he replied, turning over the other mare he never seen before. "Who's the other girl?" he asked, one of his eyelids lowering as a form of puzzlement.

"Spike it's Agate. Remember her?" Twilight answered, walking in. However, that answer didn't mean much to Spike, who became a bit awkward about the situation.

"Well, actually, not really." Spike shied away.

"She was my classmate when you were even smaller." Twilight explained with a little smirk.

"Twilight, we're ever so grateful for your hospitality, but we really should get home by now, that dress won't make itself, I'm afraid." Rarity explained ever so politely.

Twilight understood, of course, Rarity was always having something she was working on, she was busy as bee. She had to keep herself occupied, whether it was sewing a new dress, or drawing an idea of new dress, or just enjoying the company of a good book and wine, maybe even writing down her own fantasies as well. She was a creative soul after all.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay for breakfast? You ate nothing this morning." Twilight asked, as she allowed to take a step closer towards Rarity.

The seamstress would have stayed, but the progress worried her. They had limited time, and she couldn't allow herself to hurry with her part, it had to be just perfect. On the other side, she didn't want Twilight to feel bad by mistake, that she wants to get out as soon as she could. To top that, Agate's stomach replied earlier than her mouth.

"I suppose the dress can wait a few more minutes." Rarity replied with a gentle grin. A few minutes was an affordable sacrifice, and a necessary one too, either here or at home but they had to eat something.

"Go ahead, I already had breakfast but I prepared some cookies for you girls." Twilight smiled back, sending her guests towards the kitchen, which was located in the lower, underground part of the trunk, right next to the storage room.

It was most minimalistic, a pair of shelves, a stove and a small fridge was all it was, really, but served its purpose well enough in cases like that very day. No wonder Twilight usually chose to eat somewhere else, the lack of natural light, and the tiny space was not something the seamstress was keen on, Agate on the other hand found it a bit of charming in its own unique way.  
Things were already set on the table, bread, hay, some jam, some fruits and vegetables, and of course, in the middle of the little, square-shaped table, the crispy-looking cookies with chocolate.

"It's a bit small, but try to make yourself comfortable." Twilight explained, a bit awkward because of the size, as the other two took a seat on the left. Agate didn't hesitate but charged her horn and got the bread, butter and the peach jam, making a delicious treat quick as she could. The two didn't speak, but ate.

Several sandwiches went down their throat before they decided it was time to the big finale. Rarity cleaned the corners of her mouth with a serviette, before folding it and gazing over to the cookies. Agate took the first piece of it, however, and bit off half of the crispy treat.

"Remember when we did the same at home a week ago?" Rarity recalled.

"How could I forget it?" Agate answered with a chuckle. It was all in her mind like it was just yesterday. She destroyed them in one bite, filling her mouth as much as she could, but now, she is much much slower and elegant about it.

So much changed in a week, and Rarity still had a hard time believing how the negligent drunkard turned into a sophisticated lady, or something close to that at least. However, it was not a time for the compliments, not yet. Instead, she signed a sweet with the azure aura of her horn and took a chip of it.   
"I dare to say you became a completely new you since." she told the smith, however, she thought otherwise.

"It's a bit exaggerating, don't you think?" Agate asked. In her eyes, she learned the way of a lady, but it did not change her completely.

"Hmm, you might be right." Rarity replied as she took another of the cookies and took tiny bits of it, noticing only one left on the dish by the time she ate hers.

"Would you like the last one?" she offered it, tilting the dish a bit her as the corners her mouth curled upwards.

Agate however shut her eyes and shook her head for a brief moment, turning away towards the third mare who was making order in the shelves just next to them. "I think Twilight should have the last one." she said.

Rarity flinched back a bit in surprise but returned to her warm, motherly expression immediately. A clever idea and a generous offer in one, while it was a bit uncomfortable, it was also a pleasant surprise seeing Agate beating her in her game this time. This one time only, of course.

"Huh?" Twilight said, hearing her name, as her ears twitched in response. She didn't quite pay attention about what was going on.

"I have to agree, Twilight, darling, you worked hard on them, you certainly deserve the last one." Rarity added, turning towards to Twi as well with the dish raised, who was confused at first but became humbled afterwards.

"Oh, my, thank you very much girls." Twilight said, taking the last piece for herself.

"No, we'd like to thank you all this." Rarity replied, standing up from the table and preparing herself to leave.

"Anytime Rarity." Twilight replied, escorting them back upstairs "You too, Agate, feel free to come by when you wish." she turned to the smith. Though the two were no friends in the past, mere antiquances, it was still enough to help make a little bond between them at that moment.

Agate picked up the intact armor piece, while Rarity reached for the umbrellas Twilight put aside to dry them. The sound of the rain, the wind blowing outside, and even the little thunderclaps didn't bother either of them too much, but now that they had to face them once more did they took notice of it once again, and it made them think again if they'd want to go.

"You can take my umbrellas, then bring them back tomorrow." Twilight told her friends as she levitated them up to Rarity who took hold on them.

"See you later." Twilight bid farewell as she allowed herself a step backwards.

"Bye!" and "Farewell!" was heard at the same time from the other two as Agate opened the door.

The strong, cold wind ambushed them, but they resisted, opened their fabric shields and slowly took their way outside.

 

~~~

 

The two was close to one another as they cut through the blizzard, relying mostly on their senses and limited vision. Luckily though, the Boutique was unlike any other building around, thus it was easy to recognize. Sometimes a bright flash aided them to locate things easier that was followed by a huge thunderclap.

Slowly but surely, step by step did they approach it, when in a sudden, the wind decided to change direction. Agate lost hold on her umbrella, as the wind took it away and tossed it aside, letting the rain shower her and the armor with no mercy.

Without thinking she ran, ran as fast as she could towards the entrance, Rarity closely behind her, readying her key and slamming it in from a distance. She turned it to let her friend in while she strolled after the other umbrella that the weather captured and played around with.

She returned home, closing the door behind her and even locking it. Agate already rid herself of the wet armor and was drying it with a towel with a worried face, allowing a deep sigh to leave her throat as she finished. All seemed fine for now.

 

~~~

 

"That was close." Agate wiped her mane from her view as she raised the towel to dry it. Her breathing was still quite severe from all this adventure.

"It certainly was." Rarity nodded. She tried to put herself at ease as well, but this little turn of the tides in the end gave her too much of an adrenaline rush. Though, maybe she could use that for her advantage.

"Let's get started, I say, we should not waste any more time." she pointed it out, picking up the now dry steel plate and bringing it over to her room upstairs.

Opened windows and curtains going mad welcomed them, a party Rarity quickly ended as a small part of the carpet was all wet already. She groaned in herself, how could she forget about closing them before leaving yesterday, or maybe she did close them but not lock them? She couldn't remember, but still, she had the urge to check the drawers out. She hurried over to them, opening them one by one. Purses, papers, the blueprint of their dress, everything seemed to be in place, she was relieved.

"Thank Celestia, it's all here." she sighed in relief, her horn charging up and levitating the big, checkered blue paper that was scrolled up. She strolled over to her table and unscrolled it, Agate following her closely, as she also wanted to see what the seamstress planned.

"Want me to help?" she asked after peeking at the blueprint that had the final piece on it from front, sides and back too.

"That'd be most pleasant, Aggy." Rarity replied. For the paper wanted to curl back up, Rarity scrolled it up ever so easily and placed it by the side of the wall.

"Now, before we start I need to address that unlike you, I need complete quiet when working, so please, no chit-chat or anything." the seamstress explained in a fierce tone. Though that wasn't always true, for from time to time she found herself singing or just simply humming songs when she thoroughly enjoyed her work. Regardless, outside noises was still not welcome, even in those trances.

"Alright, then." Agate replied. Though she did want to chit-chat with her, as this was possibly the best opportunity to do so, she anknowledged her friend's habits, and kept her lips sealed.

"Good." Rarity replied, the blue aura around her horn appeared once more as she took up her orange glasses from the table and put them on. "Could you get the measure tape for me, it must be somewhere around there." she said, pointing towards the area with the mannequins.

Agate nodded and headed just there hovering up a yellow tape that was wrapped around one of the plastic ponies, while Rarity levitated up and unrolled the maroon red fabric, and prepared it along with silver scissors on her working table.

"Here it is." Agate shouted, strolling back and handing it over to her friend "Those glasses look sexy on you, by the way." she added. Rarity gave her a look of disbelief, that served a little reminder as the smith grabbed for her mouth.

"Oh yeah, no chatting, sorry." Agate apologized, backing away a little, as she suddenly had the urge to sneeze, thus she turned away and covered her face with one of her leg. Rarity chuckled a bit with closed mouth and returned to her work as she faded her eyes away.

"It's fine, dear. Bless you." she said, as she levitated up the material, measuring it and then cutting it down to size with swift snips. The lightning however decided to pull a prank on her as it lit up the whole room in a sudden. Rarity had no time for that though, irritated by the flashing light she groaned a bit, then with her magic, she drew the curtains together.

Her face sent the message, it could have only be clearer if she'd have hung a "Do Not Disturb" sign on her ears. She turned back to Agate who watched her work from the side, but from a distance not to be a bother.

"Dress up one of those figures while I'm at it, will you?" Rarity ordered. She sounded a bit mad, but both of them knew she is just being very serious, and she had a good reason to do so.

Agate did not even reply, just obey, taking up the armor and trying to put it on the mannequin, though the operation was a bit too noisy for the seamstress. Rarity however didn't allow herself to be frustrated upon tiny things, rather focused on that one thing she was doing, measuring and cutting, measuring and cutting.

It didn't take the smith too long to put the plates on, and she was long done by the time Rarity put them together with the help of her magic to see if it fits.

Making sure of that, she levitated up another roll of blue fabric from her rack, as she strolled over to her red, gold-adorned sewing machine, turning it on. She began working on the embroidered tribal motives, while the smith took it all in.

Then she sneezed once more.  
"Bless you." Rarity replied "Tissues in the cupboards." she added, not letting her sight wonder away as she put everything into what she was doing at that time. Agate was quick to thank her and wandered over to take one.

 

~~~

 

Several long hours of work passed by, even Sweetie Belle arrived home before they could finish, but in the end, it all seemed to pay off. The armor-dress hybrid started to take shape, all that was left is the beautiful organza atop the steel plates of the skirt part.

"Careful, hold it still. Hold it still! That's not still, Agate, keep it fixed." Rarity shouted as Agate raised the iron rings of the belt part, as Rarity smeared the glue on the steel, then before it could dry, put on the see-through material and pushed it against the sticky liquid all around, carefully, not to have any wrinkles that would cut from its size.

"Okay, done." Rarity told her friend, signing with her hoof that she can let go it. Once done with that she took hold on the other end with her magic and stretched it all flat until it reached the very end of the cold, hard steel.

Soft fur layers with shades of pink adorned the end, all brushed in one direction, however, below it, a piece of fabric normally unseen to the eyes were used as a medium to attach it to the steel armor. Rarity glued it there as well.

"Okay, I'm washing hooves." she explained, hurrying to the bathroom on her rear limbs as her front hooves were all covered in glue, something she wanted to rid herself of as soon as she could.

"Yeah, I guess I also need that." Agate replied, following her to the bathroom.

A few minutes did all it take before both of them returned, and for some reason, their creation just caught them off-guard. They stopped there just as they entered, gazing on the dress for a few moments before they decided to take a closer look.

"It looks so awesome." Agate noted in awe. Indeed, it was a sight to behold. Though it looked so different on paper, it did not look any worse in reality either, if not the opposite. The sparking scarlet with the blue, purple and yellow tribal motives on it, the pattern in the organza and the hard steel erupting at the neck like a volcano, it all looked so strange and alien, yet so wonderful.

Rarity on the other side, didn't let it seduce her with such ease.  
"We're not done yet, there still could be mistakes." she replied, as she set her glasses and decided to walk around it and check every of its spots for problems.

She moaned and groaned as she checked the puffs, the saddle, the belt and the skirt, moving or shaking them or just looking at their seams. She could not afford one mistake.

Everything seemed fine, until she saw a rebellious line of sylvia, hanging there all alone, but not for long, as the seamstress raised her scissors and got rid of it. Despite that, the saddle was stable, the organza was also intact, and she was yet to find something wrong even after another examination.

She allowed herself to take a deep breath and blow all her frustration away with an exhale. She eyed the fruit of their hard work, but instead of her critic view, she just let her mind open and take in its beauty.

They finished it, an unbelievable thought for both of them, yet it was real, it was there, right in front of their eyes in all its glory. As Rarity lost herself in her thoughts, two hooves grabbed her to prevent her fall from reality, hooves that wrapped themselves around her neck in a form of a sweet embrace.

"We did it. I can't believe it, Rares." Agate told her friend of ivory, holding her ever so close to herself.

"It is beyond my depth as well, trust me." Rarity replied, as she let Agate enjoy the situation just a little longer before making some room for herself with soft motions and a small step back.

"You know, we should have made two of it, really, one for your collection and one for mine." Rarity chuckled, as she just couldn't take her eyes off it.

"Your collection?" Agate raised one of her eyebrows with a smug smile as she looked at friend.

"Well yes, the one downstairs behind the stage, didn't I show you?" Rarity turned back to her, as if she could recall something like that already happening once. However, Agate shook her head in disapproval.

"No, but I think we have time to check it out." Agate replied as she took a look back at their dress for a second.

"Oh we do, dear, we do, this way." Rarity responded. Though boasting was not one of her traits, she still loved to showcase what she had, after all, she was proud of her creations... most of them, anyway. She turned around and waved the tip of her hoof a little bit as a sign for Agate to follow her out of the room.

 

~~~

 

They were downstairs again, as Rarity walked over to a huge curtain behind her personal little stage. She made a small entrance in the middle and let the smith take the first step inside. The whole place was filled with dresses, like a cloakroom. Long steel hangers filled with Rarity's creations made paths to walk along on.

"Wow! It's like a shop." Agate noted as she gazed around "Though it's a bit colder."

"Technically, this is a shop, darling." Rarity giggled back, pointing out the obvious. About it being cooler, while she could feel it that never really bothered her.

Dresses of all kinds were hanging there, even Rarity's Gala dress was found there Agate tried on a week ago.

Out of the gigantic forest of dresses, a huge flag of a feather was standing high above the others, calling the smith to itself. It was a hat, pink, with a flower and two feathers of red and pink attached to the red ribbon. It was quite simple, and looked almost like a pale yellow one right next to it.

Rarity caught up to the smith meanwhile, noticing Agate gazing over her work. The hat and the clothes had an extremely similar color to Agate's coat, the dress being a knee-long robe with an open space left at the chest part, as well as a beautiful white collar and a blue gemstone.

"Oh, I remember this one. I made it to fit the hat." Rarity said, floating away from reality and daydreaming about those good old times. The hat in question was having similar colors and style, but it was slightly more curvy and had a massive ribbon on it with a few fake flowers as well.

"I still recall Twilight's birthday..." she wondered, telling her little story "I was to make her a wonderful dress for her birthday while I was residing in Canterlot for shopping, but I met up with the elite of the capital and I just couldn't help myself."

"Well that was quite a selfish move." Agate noted, turning her head towards the ivory unicorn with a frown and a rather off voice.

"I know it well, and trust me, I was ever so embarrassed, but it might have been my one and only chance to gather some reputation and get the business running better." Rarity explained. She had a valid point there, Agate had to admit, for she knew that feeling all too well. Sacrifices must be made for one to achieve her dream, for her it was her own, old self, for Rarity, it was a present for her close friend.

Rarity allowed a relieved exhale to leave her mouth before she continued "By sheer luck, Twilight loved the base of the unfinished dress, however. I should have knew it though, she was always more about functionality than looks, keeping things simple and organized."

"Yeah, that's totally her." Agate nodded a tiny sneeze later as a response, taking her look back on the dress.

They kept gazing at it, adoring its beautiful shape and colors a little longer, before continuing their way in the fabric-forest.

Passing by more and more beautiful clothes one really caught the eye of the seamstress, a turquoise one with a pink, transparent part over it in the shape of a flower. She took a piece of its fabric in her hoof to feel its soft texture.

"Ah, my wedding dress." Rarity recalled those old memories, but quickly attempted to correct herself upon the little mistake she made "Not for my wedding, of course, I was just the bridesmaid."

"Cadence's wedding?" Agate asked back "When those insectoid freaks came over?" It was a memory she was never to forget, fleeing from those things down the street and even beating up one up close. It was terrifying, but her mind-presence was there, helping her run back home to arm herself. However, regardless of how vivid it was she couldn't recall anything from the seamstress.

"Were you there too?" Rarity asked back in surprise after levitating up the whole hanger to gain full access to the masterpiece. But as she thought a bit more about it, why would she have not been there, Shining has been good friend with her for quite a while.

"Yeah, I wasn't all happy about it, but I did it for Armor, it was his big day after all." she explained "It went much better than I expected, though, I had good use of Hamy even." she giggled. Rarity became even more shocked. She heard that name before, and it was clear who the smith was referring to.

"Hamy? You mean you brought your hammer to a wedding?!" she asked in complete disbelief. Why would she, or as a matter of fact anyone do that?

"Yeah, I did, you may never know when you'll need to break in a door or defend yourself from a scary bug-like-thingy." the smith explained with childish joy "Just, don't tell this anypony, alright?"

Rarity just rolled her eyes over the whole thing, then smiled back at her friend. She know how wacky she is, but that was what made Agate herself. Her lips were sealed.

The two kept wondering around without aim or goal for a long time. It felt like a diary, within every piece there was a fragment of memory. Best-sellers, prototypes, and failed dresses that never saw the light of the day, there were so much things this magical place could talk about, and Agate was more than eager to listen. Yet, the deeper they went, the colder it was.

"G-geez, it's starting to get really c-cold in here." she rambled, her legs and jaw visibly shaking just a bit from time to time. She was about to freeze.

"Cold?" Rarity asked in disbelief. It wasn't anywhere close to cold, maybe a bit cooler but far, far from knee-shaking, teeth-clattering ice cold. There was something that could explain all this however.

Rarity stepped closer to her friend, and put her right on her forehead just below the smith's horn. Not a second but a huge gasp left her mouth from what she felt.

"Agate you're searing hot." she explained. It was official now, the smith had a fever, and Rarity knew exactly why. She escorted the unicorn with the cold back upstairs to let her rest.


	14. Sick

Agate was lying in Rarity's bed for hours. The ivory one didn't mind that as much as one would think though. Agate enveloped herself in the sheets entirely, shivering yet sweating like a maniac, hoping the medicine Rarity gave her will take its effect. Rarity kept gazing through the windows, watching the skies getting darker and darker as the blizzard started to let go bit by bit. Inside however, she tried to put herself together.

She knew well that if she would have been the one who look out for help this morning the same thing might have happened to her, rendering her unable to finish the work. Whether Agate knew this all along was a mystery, but that didn't change anything about the gratitude Rarity felt.  
Yet, on the other end, it seemed as if they were cursed. It all seemed lost for the contest was held within two days and they had to go to Canterlot tomorrow. All she could do right now is aid her sick friend, and hope, and pray she is going to get better by tomorrow.

"Rarity." a weak voice called her, a broken moan from the ebony mistress.

"Yes, Aggy?" her worried partner replied, ready to lend help in almost any way she could.

"I've got a plan." Agate told her "If I don't get better by tomorrow, take Roseluck and my ink gems with you."

"Don't say that, dear. You will get better." Rarity replied, and even though Agate's plan did sound quite clever, she did not, at all, want to go by it. This was too much for her to handle, the stress ate her nerves like rust, and she couldn't do anything, but wait.

The door opened quietly. "Is Agate any better?" the voice of Sweetie Belle asked.

"Not yet." Rarity shook her head, turning back to the unicorn in question "Look, I'll let you rest, here, I'll even draw the curtains together for you." she said, doing exactly that, then heading to the exit as the sick pony thanked her, rolling around to her other side.

Agate didn't really know how to feel. She needed to rest but she couldn't, her mind just didn't let her, she wanted to get healthy and get up, but sadly that wasn't possible, all she could do was to rest. All she could do was... nothing.

Rarity couldn't decide on what to do either, she didn't want the wine right now, so instead, she walked down to the kitchen and took a book from one of the shelves. She strolled over to one of the seats in the kitchen and began reading it. "Black Heads" was written on its cover, a dark, psycholigical book uncovering the darker corners of one's mind, a topic that fascinated the seamstress for some odd reason. Yet her mind didn't let go of reality, and she just couldn't immerse herself in it. Few paragraphs later she put it down on the table with a heavy sigh, and leaned down on the furniture itself. She was too anxious to do anything.

Time seemed to stop there, she stood up to see Sweetie Belle in her room. She opened the door, but her sister wasn't doing anything either, just gazing out the window.

"Hey, Sweetie Belle." Rarity said, approaching her sister. She had not a clue what she wanted to do or say, though, she just wanted to talk.

"Ahh... so bored..." the filly sighed, turning away from the glass and falling down on the floor.

"Would you like to do something together?" Rarity suggested with a smile, even though she was clueless.

"Like what?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Like..." Rarity replied, but she had no idea. Whatever happened to her creativity was unknown, and she had no choice but resent with the thought with a deep sigh "I don't know, dear. This weather is just so distressing."

She decided to take a look around, maybe she could find some toys to play with, though, there weren't too many things in there, simply because she used to go outside with her friends almost all the time.

"Would Sir Saddlot need to rescue the princess again?" Rarity asked as she noticed two little dolls on the shelf, one of them being a knight in a silver colored armor and a beautiful golden saddle, the other one being one of Princess Celestia herself. Though their sizes were quite off for Celestia was as small as the Saddlot, this wasn't too much of a bother.

"I think she can save herself this time." Sweetie moaned back, suffering on the floor. She had a valid point, after all, who needed a knight for an entity that had the power of ten unicorns? Clearly, Sweetie was too under the weather to do anything, so Rarity let her crawl into her bed and do what Agate was doing.

"Okay, I think I'll have a bath then." Rarity replied with a sigh, as she turned around and left, targeting the bathroom. Soon as she put her right limb on the door the sound of a knob twisting hit her ears that perked all up with a twitch. It came from her left, downstairs, not from in front. Strange, she absolutely recalled locking the door after her. She walked that way slowly, almost snuck until she had a clear vision of the showroom.

Two figures entered, wearing gigantic yellow raincoats with hoods large enough to cover most their faces even. They closed the door behind themselves.

"Excuse me." Rarity said, trotting down the stairs "I don't know how did you enter but-" but she couldn't finish her sentence as the two hoods were folded back, and what they hid made it irrelevant.  
Behind the covers were a a purple pony with blue mane and a huge grin as well as a white stallion with a mustache.

"Mother? Father?" Rarity asked in absolute shock. She did not except her very parents returning, especially without a letter, or any kind of message indicating the time. All she got from them was a "soon", yet, for some reason she did not except the "soon" to be actually right that moment out of all.

"Rarity sweetie, we missed you so much." the unicorn charged at her and embracing her daughter thigh... very thigh.

"Yes, I missed you too Mother." the seamstress replied, still confused about what was going on. It all happened so fast, her mind just could not keep up. All she noticed was that her mother suddenly let go of her and was dropping her cover, hanging them up without even looking.

"Oh, where is my little Sweetie Belle?" she added, gazing towards the stairs and then climbing them.

Her father approached her now "Sorry if we startled you getting home in all of a sudden."

"It's fine." Rarity replied "Though what's with these coats?" she asked. They were bright yellow with black lines here and there, long enough to almost be dragged on the ground. They were just outright hideous.

"Oh, these're raincoats, best not to go without one into a rainforest." the unicorn stallion pointed out the obvious, which didn't even surprise the seamstress too much anymore.

"Sweetie Belle!! There you are, I've been so worried about you."

"Oh. Uh. Hi Mom, I missed you too- Hnnngg!"

Hearing the conversation going on upstairs both of them decided its the best if they join them in the big, yet sort of unexpected family reunion... short after Rarity pointed out to take off that dirty coat.

Sweetie and their mom was in the corridors, and the latter still couldn't let go of that smile. Rarity's father was to made an announcement.

"Well, now that we are all together, I say we should-"

He was interrupted by the door just in front of her opening, the door of Rarity's room with the help of a yellow hoof.

"Hey Rares, is something wrong going on?" a weak voice came as another, fifth unicorn revealed herself, one completely unknown to the parents. Rarity knew its best to take care of this before any of them could think of anything, thus she took the opportunity to take control over the situation while she could.

"Mother, father, I think we should talk a bit..." she spoke up softly.

 

~~~

 

"...that's the story." Rarity sighed up, leaning back on the seat and away from the kitchen table.

"Aw, poor thing." her mother turned towards the sick Agate who was sitting further away on Rarity's sofa, covered up in Rarity's blankets, sipping some hot green tea from a fitting green cup "Let me just make you a nice hot soup for a dinner." she added, standing up and starting to look at the shelves, looking for a recipe in a book she could use.

"Thank you Miss Crumbles." Agate replied. Seemed like Rarity inherited her generous heart from her mother. Though the medicine the ivory mistress gave her already made her feel better than before she couldn't take risks now, so she accepted the offer.

"Should take a cold bath in the meantime." the stallion - whose name turned out to be Hondo Flanks in the meanwhile - added. Rarity seemed to approve of the idea too as her gentle nods signaled towards the sick one.

"Yeah, good idea." Agate replied, putting down the cup and heading back upstairs to do just that, dragging the blankets along the floor. Rarity could tolerate it, of course, but her mind was crying in terror inside. Her bed, her sofa, her blankets, they all had to go to the laundry after such torture.

"Rarity, my dear!" her mother shouted, as she prepared the ingredients for her dinner. "Could you go tell Sweetie Belle to pack up while I'm busy?" she asked.

"Pack up? You mean you're taking her home?" Rarity responded, frozen solid from the shock. Truth was that unlike many mistook it, Rarity's family did not live in the boutique, but instead a small house just by the river a couple streets away.

"Well, you can't sleep with Agate like that." her mother replied, taking a step closer and whispering the rest "She'll give you all her disgusting germs and bacteria."

"That's true." resigned Rarity. In a situation like this, she could not afford getting sick as well, and she couldn't sleep on the sofa either for it was also infected, plus it was too uncomfortable for her to get any real rest, something much needed if they were going tomorrow afternoon.

"I'll go tell her, then, I'm sure she'll understand." she added heading back upstairs slowly, where the sound of water flowing filled the narrow corridor. Agate was having her cold bath, just as planned, but Rarity had other things to do. She returned to Sweetie Belle's room once more.

"Sweetie Belle, mom says you'll need to go home with them tonight, Agate needs to sleep alone." she explained as soon as she opened the door. The filly was lying in her bed, tucked in, having nothing better to do than listening to the gentle rain outside.

"Okay." she moaned. That was all she said. It quite took Rarity by surprise though, she was expecting something different, something with more emotion, like her jumping up and say 'What' in disbelief.

"Well, I guess that's all." she responded awkwardly, backing away and leaving. That 'Okay' was so... soulless. Did her sister not like her? Maybe she was expecting this to come? Nopony knew.

"Ah God, it's s-so cold." a voice mumbled from behind the door in front of her, with the noises of teeth clattering afterwards. Agate was not taking her time, but who would have when basically freezing inside her whole body. She opened the door few seconds later, rushing back to the bedroom to warm up between the soft sheets... something that was not to happen. Rarity was more and more worried about her, but she knew that these measurements are for their own good.  
She had nothing left to do here, it was time to return to her mother to the kitchen, maybe she could learn a thing or two about cooking from her.

 

~~~

 

Agate kept resting in the bed, shivering from the fever for who knows how long. It was driving her crazy, no matter how much she covered herself, it just didn't seem to be enough. She wanted to get over this as fast as she could, even if she couldn't get fully healthy, she just wanted the fever to go away. She grabbed another tissue quickly from the shelf just next to her on her right, and sneezed right into it, blowing her nose afterwards to get rid of the bacteria. Then, with a small fling she threw it into the trashcan on top of the others.

She lied back with a sigh, she could do nothing but lay there helplessly. The thoughts of taking another pill was circling in her head, but only the seamstress knew where the medicine were kept. The door opened however, with two friendly faces coming in, Rarity and her mother, latter carrying a bowl with her magic as they approached.

"Aggy, how do you feel?" Rarity asked, her face full of worry.

"Cold..." Agate sat up, resting her back against the bed-head to have a better view on them.

"I cooked some home-made medicine for you, my dear, hopefully this will help." Crumbles handled over the green bowl, the smith taking it with her hooves and taking a look at its contents. It was filled with all kinds of vegetables, carrots, leeks, potatoes, beans, peas, and what one can imagine, all in a red base of tomato soup. It was a real nutrient bomb in her hooves. There was one thing missing, though.

"Uh, is there a spoon to it?" she asked, her voice slightly distorted by her full nose.

"Oh, oh, yes, silly me, I forgot the spoon, haha, just a moment." Miss Crumbles apologized as she rushed out from the room to get something Agate could eat with, closing the door behind her.

It was just the two friends there from now on, Agate put the bowl on the shelf for its steam started to get irritating, as well as the hot bowl set her hooves on fire (all while the rest of her body felt ice cold).

Rarity finally had the opportunity to tell the smith something that was on her tongue for a while.

"I suppose I owe you a thanks for what you did in the morning, darling." she confessed as she laid down next to the bed, talking face to face with her now.

She let a sigh escape her throat once more as she shut off eyes, turning a bit away too "I don't even know where we'd be now if you don't insist going instead of me... possibly nowhere still." she added.

"That was the least I could do." Agate responded "What matters now is that it is f-finished, and that I just need to c-come over this last challenge." the smith replied. Though her body was cold, her soul was fiery. It just warmed Rarity's heart to see her friend like that, even though she knew well that this not Agate's biggest obstacle she needs to come across. No, there was one last thing awaiting her, but the seamstress mustn't tell.

"I'm back!" a motherly voice shouted as the door opened behind them. Rarity's mom with the spoon has arrived, just in time, while the soup was still hot. She gave it the sick pony who levitated it up along with the bowl, and after putting everything in place, she used only her limbs to eat.

She took a spoonful of the red medicine, a piece of carrot in it, blowing it once, twice, then tasting it. A few seconds in but she already started humming. The soup was simply delicious, the vegetables soft and the heat numbing her throat and freeing her airways. Cookie already began chuckling in herself, she knew a satisfied face when she saw one.

"It's very good." Agate complimented, then took another spoon of the meal.

"I'm glad." Cookie laughed "I'll be packing up, then. My job is done here." she added, leaving the room. A loud call to Sweetie Belle was heard from behind the wooden door afterwards.

"I should see them off as well. They don't live here, you know." Rarity explained, going after them, though with a more gentle pace. It was just Agate and her soup now, and the smith decided to live for the moment, taking another spoon full of the soft deliciousness, the beans, peas and some potatoes soaked in the warm juice. Wonderful.

With every bite she felt its warmth spreading across her body, she could already feel better just because of it. Rarity's mom sure knew how to cook, it was quite strange how Rarity had not inherited her skills.

Later on the seamstress returned, and Agate already finished her dinner, putting the empty bowl aside. Rarity was levitating a little thing, a thermometer to be exact.

"Let's check your temperature, darling." she told her. Agate needed no instructions, she opened her mouth and let the tailor put in the device.

"I guess it's just you and me here from now, I'll be sleeping in Sweetie Belle's bedroom tonight then." she said. Then everything went silent. Rarity ran out things she could talk about.

She gazed over to their masterpiece that stood on a mannequin in front of the window. Though the curtains were drawn together, the emptiness behind them clearly told the sun was nowhere to be found on the sky anymore. Then she focused back on the dress again, the anxiety just growing in her further and further. She was yet to find a way on how to deliver it without the chance of it being damaged, even now. Unlike a normal dress, it was much heavier and it couldn't be folded then ironed out because of the steel armor under it.

It was time to see Agate's condition. The seamstress turned back to her, and with the help of her blue magic she took hold of it, hoping for the bests. Agate also was quite nervous about it.

Rarity's mouth however curled upwards, and soon she read off the numbers a relieved sigh left her mouth.  
"38.9, thank Celestia." Rarity said, letting out another deep exhale. It was still above the normal but not all that much, and if Aggy was to take some more medication for the night she would most likely get up on her fours tomorrow morning.

"It's best to take another pill for the night, dear, let me bring you one." the now happy seamstress added, trotting out to the bathroom, then returning a couple seconds later with a pill and some water.

The smith reached for it with her magic, and soon Rarity felt it taking hold over her magic she let go of them. Agate quickly swallowed the medicine and put the empty glass aside on the nightstand couple of meters away. Rarity chuckled some behind her muzzle, Agate was to be all fine and dandy soon. All she needs now is rest, rest and more rest... in fact, those were things even the seamstress was longing for a little by now.

"Okay then, good night, Aggy." Rarity said, turning away, as Agate also replied with a swift "Night, Rares.", falling back onto the sheets once more. The ivory one shut the lights, and let her counterpart be, heading towards her new, temporary bedroom.

 

~~~

 

She laid down, feeling the textile against her coat, so... different. The bed somewhat harder, the pillow smaller, but it wasn't uncomfortable, just different. However the strangest out of all was the lack of something... or somepony. So long she hasn't sleep all by herself she couldn't tell if the lack of the smith's presence was good or bad. The more she thought about her the more she began to miss her. There was still quite some light in this room, thus she turned around to look for the curtains she could draw together, however what she saw changed her mind.

The Moon, almost making up a complete round shape. Like them, it was ever so close to fulfill its destiny, it was just a matter of time. Gazing out the window a bitter melancholy rushed through her. And... what would happen after that, when the curtains come together and the show is over? The answer was obvious, but it was painful to the heart. No matter how stupid it seemed to her mind, deep in her heart she just didn't want to part ways with her other.

Of course, they could keep being in touch with each other by letters, and maybe visit one another from time to time, it wasn't anything far-fetched... yet, why did she feel so terrible still?

The whole thing was a mystery, even to her. The Moon was hid behind the dark curtains, as the seamstress shut her eyes, and with a last sigh, she attempted to take something she have earned more than well.


	15. The final challenge

The door of Rarity's room opened ever so slowly. The unicorn raised her head, but what she saw took her by absolute surprise. Of course, that was Sweetie Belle's room, not hers, she recalled it now. She was not used to such things, nor she really wished to all that much. The seamstress turned her head to the left to see who visited her, and for her disbelief, it was none other than Agate, with something.

"Morning, sleepyhead." she said, carrying a porcelain dish with a sandwich on it as well as a cup of tea. The tailor was baffled by all these unusual things in the sudden, but it took little time for her to get back into the roll of things.

"Aggy, how are you feeling?" Rarity whispered, still showing worry towards her, she had to knew her exact condition.

"Much better, thanks. I made some stuff for you for what you've done yesterday." Agate replied with a smile, as she gave her friend her breakfast. Though a few coughs instantly left her throat soon the ivory mistress took it away from her. It was quite clear she was not healthy to her fullest, but by far better than yesterday. She could come to Canterlot today.

"I'm so glad, dear, but you shouldn't have, really." Rarity replied. It was such a pleasant surprise after all they went through. However, if one thing she wasn't keen on at all is eating in the bed. It was just not comfortable, not to mention the crumbles could fall anywhere if one isn't careful. That, and one more thing.

"I'll eat it a bit later, mind you, I can't eat right after waking up." she added, looking for a place she could leave the dish. The shelf across the room looked like a nice option, so she levitated it there, but kept the tea. She wasn't sure if the smith knew that she loved tea instead of coffee in the morning or it was just mere coincidence but she could not refuse some when waking up. It was cold, or not warm enough to be correct, but she could look past that, after all, it was the gesture that mattered.

"Hmm, pretty good." she added after taking a sip. Though it wasn't as good as hers, for there was a bit too much of lemon, it still had an enjoyable taste. Rarity drank it up, sip by sip, taking her time, then placed the empty cup by the dish as she finally got out of the bed.

"I hope you're ready to go back to Canterlot, I had an idea how we could take the dress without much problems." Rarity explained.

"Packing it bubble wraps?" Agate asked with a smug grin, which Rarity also returned the same way.

"Almost, but more like put it inside a box filled with bubble wraps." the other replied. Their idea was quite similar, but not the same, and this little thing was something the seamstress surprisingly enjoyed despite it happening aplenty of times by now already.

"We should pack up soon though." Agate explained with a cough afterwards, as the two left the room without any sign of hurry and walked back to Rarity's actual bedroom.

"Everything in time, dear, first thing first..." Rarity calmed down the anxious mare, as she walked over to her bed, and with her blue magic, she raised up all the sheets, pillows and the blanket, wrapping it into a huge ball shape "...these are going into the laundry."

With the huge object she strolled back to the door, squeezing it through, then proceeding downwards. It would've been much better if she could have seen things in front of her but there wasn't too much things to knock over so she could walk through the corridor without problems, then go the laundry room. Of course, she could not just throw it all in the washing machine like that, the ball was too big for that. Using her space management skills, she had to do it one by one. It wasn't all that difficult as it sounded like, she has been doing this since forever. She then poured the detergent into its place, turned a knob and the machine took care of the rest. That being done she washed her hooves with her favorite liquid soap, and returned to the showroom where she left her friend.

"Hey Rares, you got a letter." Agate said, who waited for her with the sandwich, and flinging the letter around with her magic.

Hearing that, Rarity's pupils shrunk, but she remained calm outside, and took it with a "Thank you." along with her breakfast and heading to the kitchen where she could properly have it.

"What's in this sandwich, by the way?" she asked, sitting down and having a peek into it.

"Ah, you know, dandelions, daisies, lettuce, these kind of things." Agate listed. Truth was even she didn't know what she put into there by now, but just by looking at it she decided to get something for herself to eat as well.

While the smith walked over to the fridge to get a few things, Rarity took a quick gaze at the letter's case, more importantly to its sender's name. Her suspicion was correct, it was from 'her'. She turned over to the upper shelves and with a swift move, slid it there, next to the pepper and salt cases, Agate must not know about it before time. Speaking of her, she came back a few moments later with some sour cream and rose petals, as well as a knife to prepare it with.

Taking a bite of her breakfast, Rarity was quite pleased with the results, Agate didn't spare the materials. Maybe that'd explain why she chose such a simplistic one for herself though, but she hurried nowhere.

"Rarity, I was thinking." Agate said between two bites "Now that I've met your parents and we're going to Canterlot, maybe I should also... you know, get to introduce you to mom." she explained. Though her face told everything about how she dreaded to do that, it was a very intriguing idea for the seamstress. She was curious, and had a few plans in those cases, but they were not even close to 100% chance of working, given the lack of information.

"She might not like me, but I think she'll like you." Agate added. Yes, this was the problem, though it might be potentially harmful, it'd been a perfect chance for them to come clean with her help. On the other hoof, who was Rarity to just come into family affairs like that? Maybe the whole thing did not worth the risk.

"Maybe after all this is over, perhaps." Rarity replied. She couldn't find an excuse to deny it, as such she decided to postpone it for later, when she makes up her mind about it.

"Oh, alright." Agate responded coughing some more afterwards, though the worry was still on her face a little bit. She had to visit her sooner or later anyway, it was a necessary evil. Rarity finished her meal and put the dish into the sink, cleaning it could wait, there were other important things to do now.

"Could you jump down to the general store and get some aeroplast, please? I'll pack up all we might need in the meantime." Rarity asked her politely.

"Get some what?" the smith asked back hearing the strange word.

"Bubble paper, for cushioning the dress." the other explained. She should have seen that coming, though. Despite that, the ebony mistress replied with a happy nod. Thus the ivory gave her some funds from her wallet she stored in one of her shelves and sent her on her way. Now that she was alone, she had time for her little message. She trotted back to the kitchen and opened it. She kept reading and humming, then with a satisfied look, she put the paper back. Everything was going according to the plan.

 

~~~

 

The sky was empty despite the roads were all muddy from the yesterday's rain, covered with puddles of many kinds. How birazze. Agate was trotting down the streets in the meanwhile, without any fear of being lost. She knew where to go, she knew what go get, not to mention she knew the mare heading her way, waving from the corner of the street. It was Roseluck and her friends again, the girls she ran the shop with. That reminded her, she barely spent any time with them so far, she kept postponing it for later and later.

"Hey, Agate." Rose greeted her, turning to her friends "Girls this is Agate."

"I'm Lily." the cute, raspberry colored blonde said, shaking hooves with her. Her voice was high pitched and somehow perfectly fitting. For some reason though, she reminded the smith of those dancer mares in Haywaii brochures. All she needed was the grass skirt.

"I'm Daisy." the hot pink with a curly green hair told her. She looked pretty odd, it seemed as if her mane was dyed or something. She sounded more mature than her fellow, still.

After a little hoofshake, the smith found it best to apologize "Hey, Rose, sorry for being pretty busy nowadays. I got to get some bubble wrap for Rary from the store, but we can talk in the meanwhile." she suggested.

"We were heading that way too." Daisy told her in a cheerful tone. It was decided, then, four of them tagged along as they began walking down the road again.

"That's great." Agate responded, but she couldn't help but cough afterwards.

"Are you alright Agate?" Rose asked her with a worrisome look.

"Yeah, yeah, just caught something yesterday, not a big deal." she responded with a few more coughs right afterwards.

"Don't worry though, if we win that competition with Rares I can buy that house here, so we can meet more often." the smith explained. Though the money alone was not enough for her, she thought about taking a smaller loan, or something.

"That'd be wonderful. Which house do you think of, by the way?" Rose replied, clapping her hooves in joy.

"Ah, you know, that faraway one on Hay Row 13th outside town." Agate responded confidently keeping her eyes on the road.

However, the collective mass of gasps from the trio instantly turned her attention there, as Lily reached for her forehead, fainting like in some overdramatic play.

"The Horror House of Hay Row." Rose whispered with a terrified voice.

"Why, what's wrong with the house?" Agate asked, completely baffled about what is happening.

"It's cursed!" the three of them shouted back, their fright echoing through the streets. The smith's head recoiled in confusion, but Rose was to make everything clear in a moment.

"Many years ago the house had two floors, but its owner had to be taken to the hospital because the wooden floor crashed underneath him."

"And then, the floor crashed under the next ones bed."

"They got rid of the second floor, but legend say the curse is still there, and when the first floor will crash you will fall..."

"To Hell!" they shouted together. What a strange rumor, Agate could understand what Rarity meant when she said the pony folk is paranoid. It was shocking the three of them could perform this speech like that the first place, it sounded like a play in a theatre.

"I... see." she replied. Still, what could she do? Miss this opportunity just because a rumor? No way. She continued her way towards the store that was just up in front of her, but the flower ponies had something different in their minds... they didn't follow her anymore.

"I guess it's time to part ways then." she noted "See you around."

"Please be careful!" three of them replied together with worried faces, as they saw the smith go towards the shop. It was pretty strange, but Agate had no time to think of that now, she had to take care about something else.

'Wait, what was it?' she thought to herself, scratching her jaw. It took a couple seconds until the answer hit her head like lightning.

"Oh yeah, bubble paper." she said aloud, followed by a silly little giggle as she opened the door of the store and headed in.

 

~~~

 

Rarity was packing into her luggage in the meanwhile. Neat and tidy, even the scratch Agate left on it a couple days ago didn't stand out all that much. As she trotted over to her shelf and opened it, she noticed the folded newspaper inside it. It was not very new, yet just a couple days old, and it had a particular advertisement in it the seamstress circled around with red. She took the paper and threw it in the trash can. She needed that intel no more.

"Rarity!" the voice of the mustard colored hit her ears, as said pony walked in, with a pack of what she went away for.

"I'm glad you're back, I hope you didn't pop all of it away the way back." Rarity giggled back. Knowing Agate well enough, that was something completely expectable, and, well, for a good reason, it was a thing even she herself has a hard time resisting.

Rarity took the cushioning material, and with the help of her hooves, spread it across the inside of a cardboard box she have prepared. Then, she laid the beautiful, though quite heavy dress inside it, packaging it in the wrap then sealing the box. While they were in a hurry before, this time she took her time with ensuring the product's safety.

"Alright, that should do it." Agate said, raising the box with her magic, but soon she levitated it up in the air, its lower part had a notable bulge on it. Bad sign, their work was just too heavy for the cardboard, and its corners could let go of their hold on the whole thing.

"You know what? I'm taking no chances." Rarity said in a determined voice, as she pulled out her little cart and laid the box into it. It fit just right. Perfect. Now all that was left is to have Agate pack up too.

Though it was sad, nothing could last forever, and the smith acknowledge that when its time to go, its time to go. The brown luggages she brought filled up with her tools, gems, accessories, shampoos and the like.

"Did two whole weeks pass this quickly?" she asked aloud. It was so easy to remember everything that happened. Just a few, but priceless memories of hers.

"I was wondering about just the same thing." Rarity added in a gray voice. So much happened in so little time, changes that she never thought of happening. It truly was a remarkable experience, one she'll hardly forget.

Aggy closed the last of her pack, and was ready to go. There was no reason to hold back now, the two of them moved downstairs and out the streets. As the ivory mistress locked the door to her home, the ebony one bid a small, silent farewell to it.

 

~~~

 

Two of them could not come up with words they could exchange on the way to the station, however, just looking into one another's eyes were enough to see the tension, the nervousness, and the sadness as well.

"Two adult's tickets, please." Rarity said after stepping up to the counter.

"Two?" Agate asked in confusion.

"Well, there are two of us, right?" Rarity replied with a subtle grin, as she took the tickets and paid them up. Even now she had a kind heart, and Agate could not say a word. Where she'd have been by now without her?

The train station was less crowded than usual, at this time of the day it was quite surprising, though. Agate strolled over to the schedule to check the times, then when she found the answers to her questions she turned back to Rarity.

"Just a couple minutes." Agate announced with a smile, but there was something else behind that joy.

"You look so heartbroken, darling. Is there anything I can help?" Rarity explained. She knew the answers of course, Agate didn't want to get back to Canterlot for obvious reasons. But at the same time, she couldn't stay at Rarity forever either.

"It'll disappear, don't worry about it." Agate replied. Rarity wasn't worried, for she knew what was to happen with time might change the smith's life for the better, even with the... temporary drawbacks. She trusted her.

The whistle of the train was heard now, and it came closer and closer. Seems like Rarity was spot on with her memories, even if she didn't tell. The ponies around began to gather up in smaller groups, hopping up once it stopped completely and opened its doors. Rarity went in first, leading the way and deciding on where to take place. Agate just followed, silently, the melancholy clearly showing on her face. They decided not to put to baggages into the train's hold, but keep them by themselves, placing them in front of, or on the seats by around. The cart was especially close, Rarity kept that parked just left to her, in the corridors.

'Poor girl...' Rarity thought, making herself comfortable while the smith kept staring outside in front of her. She didn't want to go back there, and it was understandable, most likely Rarity herself wouldn't want to in her place. Then she gazed over to the little cart left in the corridor, if anything, that might have the solution.

The ride was silent, and it just fueled the endless loop of nostalgia in their mind. However, there wasn't anything to do about that.

 

~~~

 

The Sun started to settle and the scenery was anything but unfamiliar for both of them. Canterlot, big concrete palace on the top of the tallest mountain of Equestria. The machinery slowed down which took ever so long, until it came to a complete halt.

"There is something I'd like you to do, Agate." Rarity explained in a much colder tone of her voice. Whatever it was seemed a serious matter.

"While I take this to your workshop could you get to the house on Sapphire Road 5? It's quite important client of mine so please do it for both of us." she added.

"Why? What should I do?" Agate asked in confusion.

"You'll know when you get there, just hurry." Rarity responded. The whole thing seemed very out of the blue and unusual, but Agate went with it, as the two hopped off the train.

The smith helped the other one take off their package, while she took care of her luggages. Agate's load was quite heavy but Rarity could handle it, though she was struggling.

"I can take it, just get the task done." she reassured her partner, though it was a question for just how long she can hold them.

Agate nodded silently, and trotted away to the location. Soon as she was out of her view she laid all four bags on the ground, one next to the other. There were aplenty of ponies coming off the train, many of them single stallions. It was a perfect time to unsheathe her secret weapon.

 

~~~

 

"Sapphire Street, Sapphire Street, Sapphire... there it is." Agate said aloud as she began counting the numbers. She arrived rather fast, so she most likely was not late... whatever it is she could have been late from.

She strolled over to the one with the big six on its side and pushed the button by the side of the door. The melody of a famous great bell was heard from inside, playing for a few seconds before fading away.

The doorknob twisted and who revealed herself from behind it rekindled a feeling in the smith she haven't felt for weeks.

"Miss Agate?" a familiar voice said in a questioning, pessimist manner.

Burning rage! Agate's eyebrows instantly narrowed just at the sight, for who greeted her was none other, then her fillyhood etiquette teacher. Though many years has passed, her pink coat and red, fancy mane hardly changed, it still had the pink streaks and the curls in the end. Her cutie mark was a pair of flowers.

Despite the anger, Agate also felt a strange confusion bugging her mind. What was she doing here and how come she was Rarity's client and what did she want from here the first place? Questions she would not likely get answers for, as such she reacted the same way her old enemy did.

"Mrs. Velour?" she asked back in a half frustrated, half baffled tone. Camellia Velour was one of a kind, she is known to be very patient... but she has her limits. Her mother enrolled the little Agate into her class in hopes of the young mare learning some manners, but things did not turn out very well.

"Here to recover the classes you've skipped?" the mare asked. She was condescending and calm, and that was just oil on the fire, despite she said the truth. Agate was on the point of smashing her in the face, but one string of thought withheld her. She planned on taking revenge. She planned to show her what she got, and rub under her nose that a ponyvillian beat her at her game. Turning her own weapon against her, that's how real fighters fight.

"Not now, thank you, my friend Rarity told me to come here to... do... something. She didn't explain it." Agate replied, cold as steel.

"Yes, yes, come in." the earth pony replied, dropping all the consent and letting the unicorn ahead of her. Skeptical first but Agate moved inside the wonderfully decorated room. It was over the top for her but it didn't surprise her the least, instead she let Velour close the door and lead her to the kitchen.

The clear, white floor, the light blue walls filled with paintings, gigantic windows, and decorated chairs and tables, they all emitted the true canterlotian aura... the thing that irritated Agate most. On the table waited many kinds of sweet treats, with dishes, knives, forks and everything set up in a nice and fancy fashion. Even the serviettes were folded in a beautiful shape of a pond lotus on the porcelain. The whole thing was like a restaurant, really, which just confused Agate even more.

"Take a seat, please, we have time aplenty so let's talk a little." the mare told her. Oh there were plenty of seats to take as well, it was some weird thing of measuring wealth. The longer table and more seats, the more money they had.

Though unlike she expected, Velour didn't sit at the far end of it, but chose one in the middle. As such, Agate sat down in front of her, this way they could be facing in front of one another without being very far away.

"Talk?" Agate asked as she made herself comfortable on the wooden chair with elegant, blue-white cushioning. It was extremely strange, why would she bother putting this all up if they hated each other. It made no sense.

"Long time we haven't spoken, is it weird that I invited an old acquaintance for a small chit-chat?" the earth pony replied with an 'innocent' counter-question. She definitely wanted to say something but was beating around the bush.

"Considering we're not... in the best terms, yeah, pretty much." Agate answered, still cold and semi-hostile towards her old teacher. Velour frowned at what she heard, but she took the teapot and poured some of its steaming hot contents to herself.

"That doesn't mean we can't meet once in a while." the teacher responded, taking a dish filled with rectangular slices of sweets with her mouth and placing it in front of the smith. "Please take some, trust me they're not poisonous."

Agate took a look at the selection, there were ones with chocolate cover, vanilla pudding filling, and many more. She took a gerbaud piece with her magic and put it on her little piece of porcelain, soon she put aside the decoration of course. With that done, Velour pulled back the dish to the middle of the table.

Despite only deserts were on it, there were quite a handful of forks and knives, two of each to be exact. Agate took the ones by her side and began cutting bite-sized pieces of the treat.

Velour also took one for herself as they started to eat, and have that little 'talk' of theirs. Agate left no choice for her to get around this time. The ball was in her court now and she didn't let this opportunity slip away.

"So, tell me, what this sudden burst if kindness is all about?" she asked, verbally charging at Velour, which the teacher did not take all that well, but expected. Agate wanted answers, of course.

"Fine, I see you want me to get to the point. Be that way." she replied in an offended manner, as she shut her blue eyes from the smith, taking a small sip of her tea.

"We've grown up Miss Agate, several years has passed since we last met." Velour added as she opened her eyes once more, gazing deep into Agate's "I see no reason to hold our grudges anymore, the past is the past." she continued, and from the looks of it, she was quite serious about the matter.

She was right at a point, Agate was just a filly when all that happened, things have change since. Looking back, she could hardly remember those distant memories about why, but her instinct told her the mare is evil. It was something that burned into her memories, but upon closer inspection, she found no proper reason to call her so anymore.

"I think... suppose that's true." Agate replied, looking at the lower left corner of her eyes.

"Can I take this as peace, then?" Velour asked for confirmation.

"Yes, yes. If I could forgive Octavia I can forgive you too." the smith sighed with resent. After so much years of holding grudge on her she finally was over it. Though she had no clue if it was for the better, or worse.

"Thank you, I'm sure she'll appreciate it." Velour replied.

Before Agate could ask back who that 'she' was, the sound of clapping interrupted them from the right, slow and gentle.

As the pony walked closer, revealing herself from behind the open door, Agate almost froze from the sight. Ivory coat and purple curls, it was somepony both of them knew: Rarity.

Soon Agate's mind could process her presence a second clapping joined from her left, Velour's. As Rarity came closer and closer so did the claps come faster and faster. Things were too sudden and strange for her to understand, but it all was to be explained very soon.

"Congratulations, Miss Agate." Velour complimented "You passed."

"You have no idea how proud I am of you right now, darling." Rarity joined, gently laying a hoof on Agate's back.

All the smith could reply was a simple "Huh?", she still was most confused about what's happening.

"Miss Rarity made this little test for you." Velour chuckled as she turned her head towards the seamstress "Impressive work, I must say, she became a completely new pony."

"Thank you, Miss Velour." Rarity replied before turning back to Agate "I knew if you can stand a dinner with a nemesis of yours you'll be absolutely ready for what is to come."

"Wait, so you tested me with her?!" Agate launched up from the chair as her head finally put the pieces together.

Rarity was surprised at this little lash-out, but deep inside she was afraid of this happen. She recessed, taking a couple steps back from her as she turned away in embarrassment.

Agate sighed lowering the volume of her voice, but keeping its frustrated style "I told you not to try bringing me closer to the canterlotians."

She really did, and Rarity recalled it clearly, but it was a promise she couldn't keep. Agate turned away, she turned away and walked away. Things started to fall apart in Rarity's mind, but she tried to hold the situation together, strolling after the smith towards the window.

"I'm sorry Aggy, but it was for the best. You had to learn to control your hostility before it could have the chance to control you." she explained ever so gently, but her voice was dripping from despair.

Agate did not reply, and that was a grim sign. Rarity's heart pounded like never before, as her mind couldn't think of anything but images of a shattered friendship.

"Can you forgive me, Aggy?" she asked, but the answer took next to an eternity to come.

Agate just sighed "Yeah, yeah, just... it might take a little time." she replied, gazing out the window, then turning away from it seeing the fancy ponies on the street.

"Thank you for the wonderful evening, Mrs. Velour." she said in a bittersweet voice, which the teacher replied with a worried "Thank you.". It was time to go home at once.

 

~~~

 

Agate was silent of the way, so was Rarity who just walked behind her with a worried look on her face. She felt terrible for what happened but as she stated, it was necessary. All she could do is let time wash away the pain. The Sun was long gone by the time the smith opened the door to her home... or at least she wanted to, until she recalled that the keys were given to Rarity. The seamstress opened the workshop and they entered, their luggages and the cart still waiting by the side. Rarity most likely left them there and hurried to where they came from right after.

They headed upstairs to get a bit of a rest, but Agate was thinking of something else. She walked over to the rectangular window next to her simplistic bed and stared out at the void. Not the void only, but more like, at her reflection. Her mane was washed and set nicely, almost like never before. Her breath was fine, though giving off the aroma of nuts and chocolate. Her skin... it looked like that of those models, and her posture was still and slightly more elegant as well. But...

"Agate. May I ask... what is in your mind?" Rarity questioned from behind her. Agate needed not to turn back, she saw the seamstress reflection just as clearly as hers.

"You know... when Velour said 'I'm like a completely new pony'..." she explained, but she didn't really know how to pour her heart's content out.

She didn't need to, though, for the ivory already knew what's all this about, her ebony counterpart was see-through as the very glass in front, after all.

"Is that what bothers you? That you assume you've changed completely?" she asked as she walked up just a few inches of the smith's left.

Agate's ears perked up in that second, as her amethyst rims turned at the seamstress' skyblue ones. A tiny 'Mhm.' left her throat only.

"Oh Aggy..." Rarity sighed "All I did was give you knowledge, tools you can use to survive in this concrete jungle, no more." she explained in a soft, almost motherly voice and look of the same kind "You did not change. I'd hate if you'd change, darling."

Agate could not reply.

The two was looking directly in one another's eyes, the beautiful art galleries of their soul. Countless of masterpieces made of turquoise and amethyst paint filled the ellipse-shaped room from all sides. As they started to lose sense of reality once again, though, sounds of ponies speaking and laughing outside prevented that.   
Rarity turned away first to take a look but all she could see is the dark gray wall of the other house in front. She didn't bother to search for it any more, she decided to do something she haven't done in quite some time.

"I think I'll get something to eat." she said, heading towards the door, but the mustard coated stopped her.

"Rarity!" she said, patiently waiting until the seamstress turned her head around completely "No hard feelings." she added with a sweet smile.

"I'm glad." Rarity replied, returning the gentle gesture. She waited up the smith who wished to join her and after Agate lead her out of the room, she closed the door with her magical powers.


	16. The last act

The morning did not wait, it came as accurate as usual, even earlier perhaps. The smith let her friend have the bed for the night, since Rarity had a higher standard for such things. Yet still, the seamstress could not sleep, she was anxious about what was to come. She stood by the window, watching as the Sun rose higher and higher in the sky. A tiny yawn followed by a relieved moan interrupted her thoughts from behind.  
Agate was sleeping on the sofa with her thicker, winter blanket covering her and a spare pillow she embraced thigh like a lover. She slept as if she wouldn't even care about the contest at all, but naturally that wasn't true.

Rarity gazed over to the clock that told her that eight o'clock was just around the corner. Five hours only until the contest, five very short hours. Yet, despite all that, she didn't have the heart to wake her up, the unicorn was just so adorable and peaceful slumbering there. All this just reminded Rarity how little sleep she got the whole night, as she couldn't help but yawn behind the cover of her left hoof.

It was too late for that now, even if she wanted to she couldn't fall asleep. Best thing she could do for now is to get to the bathroom and set her mane. She felt it being all over the place but she could only guess how crazy it might look. The seamstress didn't hesitate, she charged up her horn and opened the door in complete silence, sneaking out of the room afterwards.

Closing the door behind herself, she headed to the location she already knew well. A look in the mirror just confirmed her suspicions. That hairdo was one she couldn't come up with in her wildest dreams... and it certainly looked like she had wild dreams. First thing first, though, she wet her hooves and rid the corner of her eyes from the gross yellow thingy she had no clue what it was called. She despised having those there, so much she didn't even bother getting to know their name.

That being done she gazed over to the little shelf by the side that held all the magical things she needed to get herself going. Of course, this was Agate's bathroom we were talking about, and Rarity was quickly reminded to that. A toothbrush, toothpaste, a manebrush and dryer was all it contained, it was beyond basic for the seamstress. By sheer luck that brush had a fully rounded end, something crucial in giving her mane and tail those signature curls.

She took the dry blower and the brush, then took a part of her nest. She straightened it with the brush first, then twisted it around its surface and blew it with the drier up close to have the curls fix themselves. This kind of improvisation was not new to her, but it was the best method to achieve those curls without mane spray.

Then the door opened, frightening her a tiny bit. Agate had the same routine as her it seemed: Get up, go to the bathroom.

"Morning, Rares!" she said with a yawn. Her mane was quite the mess as well.

"Good morning, Aggy." Rarity replied, continuing setting her tail after taking a step back from the basin.

Agate also washed her face, with cold water to really help her wake her up. Unlike Rarity, though, she needed no mirrors or brushes even to get set in the morning. She shook her head a couple times and stroke her right limb along it to make a makeshift manestyle, she could do the other parts later.

 

~~~

 

Time passed like a maniac, and after setting themselves, having a good breakfast and some last recite of all those things Agate learned, the girls heard the bell tower's loud melody echoing through the streets. It was the dreaded sign of twelve o' clock.

"All right then, we have just an hour left." Rarity told the mustard one, standing up from the bed she was lying on. Agate put the books she balanced on her head down, she pretty much mastered the balancing when it came to three or less books.

"Yeah, we should start getting set." she replied after placing the last one back where it belonged. They had to be prim and proper when going to the contest, even her.

"I already am set, what about you?" Rarity teased her, the smith's mane was still a complete mess. Though it needed no wash, for that was taken care of yesterday, it could use plenty of brushing at the least.

"Okay, okay, I'm out." Agate calmed her, turning around and rushing down to the bathroom. She really was in a hurry, grabbing the brush with a swift move and stroking it along her mane soon she opened the door. She brushed the bigger, darker area first, only picking the lighter side after the two colors were completely divided from each other. Then she repeated the same with her tail. Agate took her time here, making sure no wild hair sticks out from its place.

Just five minutes, but the door to her bedroom opened with such force Rarity shrieked for a second out of shock.

"Hey Rares, I'm..."

Rarity was not the only one who froze from the fright, for what Agate saw was completely new and weird to her, something she couldn't imagine about the seamstress before.

"Are those... eyelashes?" she asked. Rarity was levitating a little mirror and what looked like false eyelashes that apparently were to make them look much bigger. It was easy to compare, as the other one was already put on.

"Please tell nopony." Rarity whispered, the fear stalking in her eyes and voice. It was a secret she clearly didn't want anypony to know about, other than her friends.

"I won't, don't worry." Agate replied, but that was not enough. It was obvious she didn't know how much was at stake, as such Rarity had to made sure she understands the importance of this.

"You won't?" the tailor asked back taking a great step closer to her partner, almost in an intimidating manner.

"No, trust me, my lips are sealed." sounded the answer, though it was still quite uncomfortable for Agate.

"Absolutely positively and completely?"

"I promise. Just trust me, alright?"

Rarity stepped back to give the smith some room as she sighed up "Fine, fine."

Now that this was settled she can put on that other part already. It was not a one-second process though, she had to make sure they won't fall off easily like last time. She was smiling again, and it was sweet as honey. Then something clicked in her mind that made her turn to Agate once more.

"Oh, could you grab the confirmation letter we received in the beginning while I'm at this? I can't remember the location but it must be in there." she said, trying to put on her eyelashes in the meanwhile.

That made Agate scratch her jaw a bit, where did she put that thing exactly? She couldn't tell, but it was most likely around her desk. As such, the smith strolled over to her wooden furniture just by the wall on her left. It had many drawers, it must have been there.

She mumbled some gibberish as she opened the one on the top. Old photo collections in leather books and unnamed folders with contents better left untouched were welcoming her, but the paper was nowhere to be found. The next shelf was completely different however, it was filled with papers with all kinds of drawings and writings in it. Atop those however laid a couple of colorful... "safety measurements" just in case. Agate was quick to shut it, Rarity must not know about those things.

"Found it yet?" Rarity shouted, but she didn't take her eye off her reflection in the mirror. It had to be perfect, and she took multiple careful looks at herself from all sides.

"It should be here." Agate moaned in despair as she looked into the next one. It was filled with drawing tools, waterpaint, brushes, a pencil case, scales, these sort of things... but not the letter she was looking for.

"Well?" Rarity asked from behind her, sending a sudden chill down her spine. The ebony mistress was shaking to the bone now, she knew what was to come if she doesn't cough up that letter very soon.

"I think I put it somewhere here but, uh, I'm not really sure." she tried to explain, looking next to and behind the desk in case if the letter fell down there.

"You're just joking, right? Please be joking." the ivory one responded, falling into madness in a blink of an eye. The mustard one, however, was not joking.

"Agate we have to find that paper, are you sure you've checked everywhere?" she asked, her volume just rising out of panic. No way they could find out where it is, for Canterlot was not the city where they put huge billboards on houses and advertisements on lamp poles.

"It's here, I'm sure let me check it somewhere else." the frustrated unicorn replied, heading towards her nightstand just next to the bed "You can help searching if you want." she suggested as a little hint for the seamstress to stop standing and doing nothing. As such, Rarity also joined the search, and since the desk was just next to her, she decided to start there, from top to bottom.

The first shelf's contents came out with ease, her horn charged up with her signature blue glow as she levitated the leather books with the "Photos" title on it, then another one, then a couple green folders with black lines. They had no names, so anything could have been in there, but considering the nature of folders, it might just be serious business documents regarding the workshop. She did not take chances, just laid them side by side on the top of the desk.

Agate heard the sounds of the drawers being pulled out, and her ears perked up in panic.

"Wait don't-"

It was all too late now, Rarity already opened the second one. Her pupils shrunk, and her face turned red at the contents, and she smashed the drawer back soon her mind processed what were inside.

"I'll just pretend I didn't see that." Rarity noted, turning away with her eyes shut. It was partially her fault as well, she just dug into the unknown without asking what might be inside. This little find didn't change her views on the smith regardless, she already knew well that she is a sassy little devil.

"Argh, it's not here either." Agate groaned, with her head hanging in resent as she shut the drawer of the nightstand. It was time to face it, she lost it.

"Great, truly wonderful." Rarity replied with a roar. Just before the finish line Agate tripped both of them, she should have seen it coming.

"Don't worry, I have a plan." the ebony mistress attempted to calm her. Of course, she always had some sort of makeshift backup plan but both of them knew that those were as reliable as they sounded like.

"Oh, I wonder what it might be this time." Rarity responded with screaming sarcasm, almost shouting back at the unicorn. She was outright furious, and she had good reasons.

"Don't worry, we can just go and ask around, right? Pretty sure somepony knows about it." Agate explained with an awkward grin. The contest was advertised in the newspapers some time ago, it sounded like a reasonable plan.

"Magnificent idea! Let's just ask around aimlessly if we can find somepony to help us out, in a thousand population city!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. Never once she was this mad, it was downright terrifying to see her wrath in its fullest. But as all stars, after reaching the critical point she collapsed upon herself emotionally. Her throat allowed a painful sigh to escape, as the seamstress mumbled a few last words.

"We're done for."

Agate thought otherwise, however, her horn engulfed itself in an amethyst tint as she reached for the handle of the cart.

"No we aren't. Stay here if you want, I won't." she said in a frustrated tone, pulling the cart with the dress out of the room. The ivory unicorn just stared at her partner leaving without even looking back once. She listened to her taking the stairs step by step, then after several seconds later, opening the front door.

 _'She's right, we can't give up here, quick, go after her, hurry!'_  she blabbered in her mind, running after the mare.

The door was closing, which made her run even faster. She almost tripped, risking falling down the stairs and causing some serious injuries but this didn't even come up in her mind as she galloped through the house.

"Wait!" she shouted, holding the door with a hoof before Agate's magic could close it completely.

"So you're coming, now?" Agate asked in a serious and cold tone, turning back over her brown saddlebags she wore.

"Yes, we started this together, so we're going to finish it together," Rarity replied with confidence. Agate's plan may sound stupid but she had to keep the friendship burning for just a bit longer "just let me get my wallet first as well."

 

~~~

 

The two of them strolled around town without aim but it didn't take too long for Agate to find somepony to ask. He had a slender build, a light blue coat and white mane to it. However, most importantly, he had a bowtie as a cutie mark. It was a great way to tell if somepony was related to fashion.

"Excuse me, we heard there'll be a fashion competition here." the smith asked.

"Oh, um, sorry, I can't help, I'm not from Canterlot." he replied.

"Alright." Agate said, as her eyes already targeted somepony else, a rather chubby mare with tan coat, a short, chestnut colored mane and a cutie mark or a wavy, pink thread. She wasn't alone, though, a blonde stallion followed her with a smaller, closed cart attached to him used to carry around small amount of things instead of ponies. Judging by its golden and silver adornments and the painted wood it sure was luxurious, yet she sure wasn't from Canterlot either.

"Excuse me, madam." Agate approached her with Rarity closely behind "We heard of a competition going on here but we are not sure exactly where, mind you lend us a helping hoof?"

The mare's eyes glinted in delight, it was a sign of hope, a solution to end this misery.  
"Yes, the competizion, I myself was heading to its locazion as well, come let me show you." she said in a strange, foreign accent similar of what Lotus and Aloe had. Her voice was deep and classy, it was a pleasure to listen to, which made Rarity more outgoing towards her as well.

"Thank you very much, Miss-"

"Mrs. De'Sine, and you're very welcome." she responded with a gentle chuckle afterwards. Rarity wiped a sweat from her forehead and let a relieved exhale out her mouth. Things were seemingly returning into their control again.

Few minutes later the three mares turned onto the Starlight Street, which was both famous for its breathtaking views of Equestria... and notorious for its steep uphill paths. Like a serpentine path on a mountain did the road lead upwards in a stretched out S-shape. Rarity have seen this on brochures and postcards but never got to visit it herself. On top of the hill was the Observatory, a square of a circle shape that was home to the most expensive houses, hotels and restaurants in the city, as well as many benches around its steel fences. However, the place's most famous sight was what it got its name from: The Museum of Stars.

Halfway upwards, but De'Sine was already suffering.

"Could we take a break, please?" she asked, leaning on the concrete wall to her right with a hoof. Only then she looked to the left side, but she instantly regretted it. Past the roofs were an enormous landscape and clouds so low it looked like they could collide with the city if they come any closer. De'Sine's fear was all over her mind and body.

"How can you canterlotians even live here, I can't understand." she blabbered, shaking, sweating and shivering.

"Need any help?" Rarity asked after taking a step closer.

"No, no I'm fine, just a bit of fear from heights," the earth pony replied with a tiny, awkward giggle, eyes closed so she won't have to see the frightening landscape again "let's continue, before I get sicker." she added, moving on. The sooner they got over this the better.

Soon they took the first hairpin De'Sine rushed to the other side of the road. The concrete wall there made her feel much safer than the fence on the other side. Things were going smooth from that point, no more stops were needed to get to the top. Despite that, all of them took a couple minutes of rest up there. The earth pony looked strictly forwards, she knew well what was behind her, however Agate and Rarity didn't hesitate to rest their eyes on the wonderful view of Equestria, just for a couple long seconds.

It wasn't anything like in the brochures, the fresh air of the mountain, the sounds of the gentle wind playing in her ears and the lively environment, it was spectacular.

"Alright. Let's continue." the earth pony spoke up in a determined, uprising voice, taking the lead once more.

Just a couple more minutes passed, but the designers reached the destination at last, the Golden Theatre. It wasn't named that for no reason, it's roof was perfectly smooth and shiny, tinted with a golden color. It was one of the oldest attractions in Canterlot, yet its beauty remained intact to this day. Some say the roof is real gold, others think it was just a hoax to trick other cities. In front of its pale yellow walls and wooden door, an earth pony stood with a small list in one of her hooves. She had a white coat and a beige mane she wore in a bun, but what really stood out was her business outfit. She must have been a hostess.

"Good afternoon, we came here for the contest." De'Sine greeted her, getting to the point.

"Your names, please?" she asked, her voice was serious and cold, it fit well with her appearance.

"I'm De'Sine, and my friends here-"

"Rarity and Agate." Rarity added, filling in the missing parts. The janitor nodded and took a peek at her paper, then back to them, then back to the paper. It seemed to last forever, the eerie tension was unbearable, especially for Rarity.

"Your signatures under your pictures, please." she added, turning the hard cover of the list, revealing its contents. Names and pictures were printed on it, every contestant duo receiving a row from the two columns. De'Sine picked up the pen that was clipped on the top of the list and wrote her name next to her picture. Then Rarity and Agate repeated her, signing the paper with the help of their magic, their slots being the bottom two on the list.

"Thank you, a fellow hostess will guide you to your rooms." the hostess continued, opening the door for them. Before they entered, however, De'Sine had a few words with the stallion who helped her out, opening the cart and taking out a reticule and a big box. Agate and Rarity however didn't pay too much attention, they headed inside instead.

 

~~~

 

"Okay, Tasky, the colors are right, just add a bit more." said a slender, light blue colored stallion with a ponytail of dark blue, and thick glasses. He was talking to a hostess on a ladder who was decorating the entrance halls with ribbons of all colors. The hall was a smaller lobby, with the checkroom being just up ahead, while two doors to the two sides served as a way to enter the theatre itself. His head snapped towards the third door soon it opened behind him.

"New guests! New guests!" he shouted to the left then right until another mare in a uniform popped out from behind the entrance on the right side. He grabbed her shoulders and flustered a load of orders at her.

"Great, Checky, sweetheart, could you lead our newcomers to their rooms, okay, thanks honey?"

Then, like a pawn in a chess match, he tossed her aside towards Rarity and returned to give orders to the other mare atop the ladder "No, not red, put a green one there to make it fit the plant."

"Welcome, let me show you your rooms," she greeted them with a smile, her voice was much friendlier than the janitor's outside. Her coat was light purple, and she wore her blue mane in a ponytail as well, "right this way." she added, escorting them just where she was coming from.

"So, we get to dress up, get set and all that, then just walk back and forth once and done?" Agate asked, staring at the enormous stage and the tons of seats around it capable to house hundreds of ponies.

"Not quite." Rarity replied with slight awkwardness "We're going to make several rehearsals beforehand." she added. The seamstress had her fair share of experience when it came to fashion shows, for she usually made her own ones for her own collections. However, none of them were as high of a caliber than this one.

As they approached the lower right corner of the wooden stage, next to the stairs that lead up to it were a secret door. It lead to smaller corridor with black-white checkered tiles, white walls and many doors at its left and right side. It looked way too simplistic, like an entirely different building, not to mention the air being stuck inside, there was no windows whatsoever to let in fresh one. Kind of an anticlimactic sight after seeing such a beautiful interior, but as usually, it was just a simple mask.

Their guide stopped them by the second door on the right, then gave Rarity a key. It was a single key on a chain along with a small, oval shaped blue label. The numbers on the area were written with marker, but they faded away, only fragments of the ink were seen on the sides.

"This will be your room, the first meeting will be in fifteen minutes on the stage." the hostess explained, then opened the locked door and left with De'Sine.

The dressing room was relatively small, it had one enormous mirror with two lights just above, two chairs with pillows, a tiny plant, and a shelf filled with all kinds of gels, sprays, polish and other cosmetic products. Rarity's eyes glinted with delight soon she noticed it, it was just the thing she needed to become as perfect as she could be.

 

~~~

 

Time passed by faster than even before, as the two unicorns headed out to take a better look around the complex. Agate locked the door, then put the keys away in her tail.

Once they left the secret passageway, first thing they did was climb the stairs just next to them to get on the stage. The sight was just amazing. At least ten rows of comfortable seats with red carpets, and a handful more on the oval-shaped first floor above. The whole building looked very much like in the fictional works, lots of red and lots of decorations.

"Wonderful, wonderful." the blue stallion said, as the other competitors all wandered around the stage already. One in particular caught the attention of the seamstress, though, an off-white mare with a short, blonde bob cut and off-white bow in it: Pop Couture. She had a smug grin on her face. Rarity looked away, the later she might notice her, the less time the two spent together the better it was.

The tall stallion took a look at his clock and clapped his hooves together "Attention, please! May I have your attention please?" he shouted, calling forth every designer and fashionista in the room.

"Wonderful, wonderful, as you may know, my name is Spotlight, lead host of this contest. I'll get to the middle and tell you the schedule because we don't have time. You're going to stage one by one, team after team, just as written on the list for the ease of things." he explained. Sounded easy enough, especially for Rarity and Agate, for they were the last ones. Rarity took a look around, counting around eight ponies, which made four team in front of them. The seamstress began calculating how long the event might take then, but she realized that its actually unnecessary.

"The judges will be sitting just in front of the stage, right there, don't be afraid to look at them, alright?" he added, pointing at a small table set up just in front of three seats in the first row.

"Nice, now everypony to the back of the stage, we're going to draw the curtains and first team appear when their name are called." Spotlight ordered, hushing and waving with his hooves, almost about to push the entire hoard if they don't move. It was a real mystery where he was rushing this much.

 

~~~

 

Hours passed by planning and rehearsals, yet the competing teams were just growing colder than colder, none of them making any positive step towards befriending the other. The tension was tangible, and the crowd was growing in the back without any sign of stopping. By the final rehearsal, almost half of the building was filled by ponies. This didn't really mind the host, in fact, he believed it will help the mares a ton when it comes to the real show. He stood by the right side of the stage, directing everything from there.

"Alright, you know the deal. Bla bla bla bla bla... Rarity and Agate, with their Cherry Orchard Dress." he shouted. Just afterwards, the scarlet curtains made way to the ivory mistress in her full glory, without the dress itself, of course.

She stepped forth, slow, elegant, her body just flowing across from one end to the other. She turned a bit to her left, showing off her beautiful skin, then she turned to the right, and a few moments later she was already strolling back to the back of the stage. Soon she crossed that invisible line the curtains were drawn together.

"Alright, you take off the dress, your friend takes it up and once again." the stallion shouted, clapping his hooves together to hurry them up, a gesture he was doing the entire day.

The curtains parted ways once more, revealing the ebony mistress as she made her way to the other side. She didn't flow like a river, instead, she resembled a fire raging across a forest. Her steps were large, powerful, filled with confidence. She showed off herself from both sides as well before returning, and letting the fabric hide her away.

"Wonderful, wonderful," the stallion said after raising the curtain, making a way little for himself "things went smoother than I thought. We still have a good fifteen minutes, you might want to practice changing that dress faster. Trust me when I say it will come in handy." he added, clapping her hooves together one more to hurry them back to their rooms.

Rarity knew that this is especially important in their cases, and while Agate made so that the armor part can open up, it still had to be handled with great care to keep the fabric intact.

 

~~~

 

"Three, two, one, go!"

Click! Click! As the skyblue aura engulfed the armor-dress completely, the front of it's hard garb snapped open, letting the tiny sheets of steel fold out. This way, Rarity's head could slip out with ease. Meanwhile, just under the shield of the belt lie a little mechanism that let the whole armor split up. Naturally, fully opening it could damage the upper layer of fabric, as such they had to open it just enough so Rarity can get out of it. She slid out her front hooves first, then chest, neck and head, all with great care. From that point it was easy to take the rest of her body. She levitated their masterpiece in that open state while the glow around it turned to amethyst. Agate took it on, again, slow and careful. One leg after the other. Rarity rushed there, connecting the joints on the lower half, then on the front of the garb, hitting the back of the mare as sign of being finished.

"Done!" she said.

"I think it was twelve, or around twelve." Agate replied, Rarity nodding as she counted roughly the same. Twelve seconds were quite the length but it wasn't something nopony had time for... hopefully.

"Make it fifteen, we'll need to fix up a thing or two, and as I know my luck something surely will jam." Rarity explained with a face of concern. It was best prepare for everything here, and the seamstress was very concerned about quite a few things. Their work was beautiful no doubt, but its beauty had its costs. Knocks interrupted them, the sign to get up the stage for sure. There was no holding back now, it all came down to this. Rarity opened the door, finding the pink hostess from before behind it.

"Mister Spotlight messages it's time to hit the stage." she said in her usual, friendly manner. She looked rather excited herself about it as well, it made the two designers somewhat less nervous.

"Thank you very much." Rarity replied. As they locked the room Agate took the lead... but in the wrong way.

"Aggy, not that way!"

"Use the rear entrance please." the other mares shouted before something terrible happens.

"Oh, oh, sorry." Agate replied, following Rarity in the other direction. Rarity has been always in the lead since the beginning, maybe it was best to leave it that way.

"Best of luck." the hostess said.

"Thank you." the unicorns replied, their last words before heading upstairs.

Strange sounds of metal clinging turned everypony's head towards the two of them. Five pairs, five wonderful dresses, yet all eyes were on theirs... eyes of confusion, skepticism and condescension. The voice of the reporter mare - knows as Feed - echoed through a building, jovial and lively, everypony's ears were turned that direction as they anxiously waited for that one sentence.

"...we have Prim Hemline here, one of Manehatten's most professional critics," she said, the crowd giving a huge applause afterwards "we also have Miss Sauvignon in our circles, well-known critic of wine, art, and of course, fashion," she continued, but the thunderstorm of claps interrupted her once more "and last but not least, Fancy Pants and her wife Fleur-Dis-Lee."

The crowd must have been gigantic, it was downright frightening. Behind this thick layer of fabric, hundreds of ponies were waiting for them, three of them with very keen senses for fashion. Just thinking about it was enough to set their nerves on fire, especially Agate's. The smith was sweating, shaking, her eyes were shifting from left to right, Rarity never seen her this nervous ever before.

"I think there is no point in wasting any more time, let the show begin!" the commentator shouted in the mic, sending chills down everypony's spine. The show officially begun.

"Our first pair is literally from the two corners of Equestria. Collar Reef from Yanhoover and Pop Couture from Manehatten, with their dress, the 'Broken Ash'." she shouted. All the while, an ocean blue earth pony with a long coral colored mane stepped up to the middle of the stage, waiting for the curtains.

The dress lived up to its name, it was all but colors. Rugged, torn away chest and mini-skirt, huge charcoal socks below with belts surrounding the legs in a random, unsymmetrical manner. Like some warrior after a battle. Rarity's observations however, were interrupted by a tail snap at her muzzle from the side.

"Like it huh? Let me show you how this is done." she laughed. Of course, Rarity should've known, it was Pop Couture's dress and hers alone after all, no wonder she was so self-confident about her work. Collar wasn't as confident about it as her partner was though, she was meek and afraid to step out once the time came. It was clear who was the boss and who was the pawn during the process. The two looked like a failproof recipe for failure, as such Rarity chose to remain silent for just a little longer.

The curtains parted ways, and while their vision was limited to just a segment of the theatre, it was more than enough to see what was going on. Excited sounds of a huge horde, lights flashing from random places every second or so, and an entire row closed down for just three ponies, the jury.

Long seconds passed, as Collar returned at once, and was quick to swap with Pop Couture who stood on the center, laughing. That boastful, narcissistic and condescending laugh rivaling Trixie's, it was utmost infuriating. As the curtains were pulled aside, the laugh reverted to a simple smile, as she made her first step on the catwalk.

"Geez, what a douche..." the pegasus on the left noted. From the looks of it the others weren't fond on her either, which was quite understandable. However, it was a mistake underestimating Pop Couture, she wasn't proud of nothing and Rarity knew that very well. As she returned, the curtains met once more, her face was filled with satisfaction.

"Fillies and gentlecolts, that was our first entry, we'll wait a couple seconds until the judges make their decisions." Feed explained. The two designers stepped up behind the curtains, waiting for the sign. The sign that was the mare whose voice was hard not to recognize anymore.

"I see the judges have their scores, let us see what they have to say." she shouted in a lively manner, making the ponies working on it reveal the designers from behind the scarlet sheets.

 

~~~

 

The jury were waiting patiently, still observing the gray dress even in those moments, as the two of the made it to the end of the stage.

"Quite a dark combination, Mrs. Hemline, what's your opinion?" the tan unicorn with a short, pastel green mane asked.

Prim Hemline was a light grey earth pony with a short pastel red mane, and a slight overbite which became her signature attribute. With a disgruntled face, she poked the mic to see if it works, then proceeded to voice her opinion.

"Quite dark indeed, it has that signature Pop Couture aura all over it. It has a well defined theme to it and fight tooth and hooves about it, in this case: the darkness. However, there is too much of good here, and many accessories just simply doesn't need to be there. Sadly, exactly for that reason I cannot help but see it as somepony's cosplay costume for a comic meeting." she explained, shutting her eyes and raising a scoreboard with a wooden handle that had a gigantic seven on it.

"Seven, a pretty good start. Miss Sauvignon?"

She was once a wine critic, but due to her body not being all too fond on alcohol, she decided to retire and carry on as a fashion and art critic. Sauvignon was an astonishing beauty with an elegant and slender body of a model. Her pale gray coat and long, slightly wavy light pink mane made her look very much like Fleur, except with a darker, lavender colored layer under her pink mane. That, and she had a mole under her eye.

"I think a solid concept is important when making a dress like this and you definitely had that, its wild, strange, different but without being too harsh on the eyes. I agree there are things that aren't really needed like the belts and socks together, either one or another would have been fine. Otherwise I like it very much." she complimented, raising her sign with a smile of satisfaction.

"An eight! Nice, nice! Fancy Pants?"

Fancy cleared his throat a little bit before beginning his speech "I think the others have already explained all aspects of this unique design. It is odd but good-looking and attractive its own way, well done.". With that, he raised his scoreboard that showed a seven.

"Seven! That makes it twenty two, congratulations." the mare with the mike added up, as the two designers nodded with respect, then left the catwalk "They set the bar quite high, and this was just the first of the five entries..."

Soon as the curtains closed behind them Couture let out another wicked and selfish laugh with a last message: "Good luck.", then she finally left the stage from the stairs on the rear.

 

~~~

 

"Eighteen! Great score, girls, great score. Fillies and gentlecolts, this was Tux Tails and Garbella. Give them an applause!" the light blue unicorn shouted, making the crowd shower the gray stallion and the rose colored mare with claps as they left the catwalk.

It was nopony but them now, and Rarity was prepared for this. For the last half an hour she had been preparing, running down each and every scenario likely in her head. Agate also was ready, she had been practicing standing and strolling in the meanwhile, reciting formal words and idioms in herself. Most competitors left the stage already, so she had plenty of room. She walked over to her friend who looked ever so nervous in their dress, gazing into the void as she just sat there, wordless.

"Hey Rares!" she whispered, placing her left hoof on her friend's neck "If we won't make it, feel free to stop by and use the workshop if you need anything." the smith continued, gazing deep in the seamstress eyes.

"We will make it, don't worry..." Rarity soothed her "but thank you for the offer." she chuckled gently, as she stood up and stepped in front of the small vertical line that signed the end of the two curtains. Only then she noticed how massive that thing was. She, just like the others has been sitting for quite a while now and her weak body was could not really hold the heavy steal much longer.

"Alright, we have seen some really good works so far, but there is still one left to go. Ladies and gentlecolts, welcome Rarity from Ponyville, the canterlotian Agate, and their 'Cherry Orchard Dress'." she shouted, as the curtains parted ways, revealing an ivory unicorn within the red armor.

Soon as Fancy heard the name 'Agate', however, his mind filled with bitter rage and confusion. Before even looking at what the scarlet veil revealed he already written a great zero on his board. Images of a shattered smith and the taste of sweet revenge were cruising in his mind, before his body alarmed it about an at first just irritating, but now painful force pushing against his spine... his very wife.

"Yes?" he whispered in an annoyed manner. He knew Fleur doesn't weigh this much unless she applies extra force, and if she applied extra force, that meant she wanted something. But never was that force as strong as to cause actual pain, what might have been this urgent?

"Are you sure, Fancy?" she asked "Are you sure you want to sabotage not one but two mare's chances?" she repeated, her eyes piercing right into his very soul. An unnerving experience, one the stallion wanted to take no more of.

"Ceil pour ceil, my dear, she robbed Canterlot now I take my revenge on their behalf as well." Fancy replied in whispers as he shaded his eyes and turned away.

"What about Rarity? Is she only some affordable loss for you?" the model questioned in a sinister tone, her body unmoving, like a gargoyle.

Fancy didn't reply, he turned his attention to the mare in question. Rarity was up there, showing off the dress in its full glory. The sight was almost breathtaking. The lights twinkling and playing on the tiny bells, the perfect harmony scarlet and the steel that, by coincidence, fit the theatre itself as well.

However, what he didn't notice was all the suffering the seamstress went through. Rarity felt like collapsing under the weight, her legs were shaking at the bones, but she knew she has to be still to prevent the steel from rattling. A pose to the left, to the right, then another one for the variety. She turned around and as gracefully as she possibly could, she strolled back. Her flow she practiced for so long was cracked, but that did not stop her now.

The drapery united once more, as the two unicorns began the operation they were working on so hard. The dress was engulfed in a blue aura, as the three clicks were sound. First the neck, the head, then then the front hooves one after another, finished with the hind ones. Only now did they realize how noisy the entire process was. Noisy, and thus, awkward as well. Agate placed her hind hooves in, rearing up to help out the tailor's work.

"Uh, I think there might be some smaller technical difficulties," the narrator said, but changed her mind the moment before she finished "oh, no, nevermind, they're back."

Agate was ready, and she carried the armor on herself a whole lot easier than her friend did, for her body was strong enough to carry the weight. She blazed through the stage effortlessly, the metal clashing with a confident, powerful rhythm and her eyes searing hot from her fiery passion. Cameras went completely nuts as she stuck one graceful pose after another, like a queen. She wasn't there forever though, after a few long seconds she turned back and walked away.

Fancy pants didn't know what to say, he just watched as the curtains closed behind the mustard colored unicorn. It took a bit of a nudge to push him out of that stasis, something the model by her side was more than grateful to give.

"Rarity, Agate and the 'Cherry Orchard Dress' fillies and gentlecolts, the judges will make their final decision in a second."

"What do you think the jury will suspect after you raise that board?" Fleur asked in a cold, menacing voice "Canterlot won't want a corrupt pony in their circles... nor do I." she explained. Fancy was panicking, for Fleur was right about everything. He didn't want to lose his reputation, letalone his wife from by his side. At the same time though, he didn't want the smith to gain any. He was confused about which path to choose, to let them be, or bring both of them down, that was the question. However he needed to make a decision, and quickly.

"I think the judges have made up their minds, let's hear them out." the reporter noted. Fancy's eyes kept going all over the place, he was late, no way he could change that zero without notice, no way he could avoid this putting a stamp on his life... unless...

 

~~~

 

The curtains made way for the two unicorns, Agate still wearing the masterpiece they made. They looked calm outside, but inside their head, they were going literally insane from nervousness. Prim Hemline spoke up without waiting for Feed's prompt, her eyes didn't show much satisfaction.

"Let me just ask, what is this... supposed to be here, exactly?" she questioned with a fierce voice. It was a question that signed their demise. For Rarity and Agate it looked pretty much over now. She eyed their work with disgruntled eyes and confusion.

"It's, well, half-dress, half-armor." Rarity replied, frightened from the verbal beating they're about to get.

"So there is no specific word of some sort for this? I see." she said shutting her eyes "I'll be honest I'm not sure from where did you fetch this crazy idea, but I see you tried to make the best out of it." she added, opening her eyes once again as she leaned forward gently.

"What you put together here looks wonderful in its own way, the powerful red with the neutral gray and the small, tribal motives with clashing colors make a really eye-catching combination. Other than the looks, though there is not too much pros of it. Let me explain, when you two worked something behind the curtains in the beginning I didn't even know what's going on back there. At first I thought some hoarder dropped a cart of soda cans by accident." the critic explained.  
The crowd laughed up in the background, which just made them even more uncomfortable. It felt like if they were all laughing at them, especially for Agate. Prim didn't even finish but the smith's heart was already broken. She was afraid this might happen, she feared it, she seen it coming, yet she had hope to hold onto, but the hope was fading now.

"Then there is the weight, Miss Rarity, I can only imagine how you felt like in there. You did not see it but you were struggling inside that... 'combination'. Your face was red, your legs were shaking, I was wondering if you can even hold out until the end. You know what I'm trying to say." Prim continued. Her words and voice were somewhat friendlier now, and the mistresses could understand her reasons.

"I appreciate creativity, but its a risky thing. Some things can be mixed well with fashion and some can't, and armors and dresses together are just... not practical. So with all this in mind, I'm giving a you a five."

As she raised her board with said number the crowd in the back let out a collective "Aah" in disappointment. It was the end, that was for sure. Agate resented with the thought... it was over, they have failed.

"I'm sorry girls, maybe Sauvignon can cheer you up a bit." the reporter mare added, trying to maintain hope in them.

Sauvignon leaned over to the mic "First, I have to agree with Prim, what you choose her was a very hit-or-miss topic," she explained, but her lips suddenly formed a gentle, barely notable smile in the process "and that's why it is good that there are three different judges, because for me it was an absolute hit. You girls blew my mind." she added, her words dripping from astonishment that made the group of ponies behind erupt in a loud cheer.

"It's something new, exciting, a breath of fresh air in the industry. I'm still having a hard time believing that thing on you is half a real armor made of real steel. The entire composition blends together just perfectly, from top to bottom. True it has its drawbacks as Prim pointed out, but I think its a natural thing, especially when it comes to completely new territories like this." Sauvignon continued, rekindling the flame of hope.

"My only thing that bugs me is the name, I just don't understand, can you explain why you chose this out of all?" she asked, curiously tilting her head.

"Actually we didn't know how to name it either, we just gave it this one because it reminded both of us for a big cherry." Agate explained. Of course this wasn't true but she had to give some sort of reason.

"Alright then, I think I waste no more time." the unicorn chuckled, as she shown her score that seemed to even out their bad start.

"Eight points! Nice, very nice. Mister Fancy Pants?"

Fancy was wordless, his face was filled with confusion. He kept his hooves on the table still, thinking, waiting, he looked lost. The stallion in the tuxedo raised his left, his mouth opened as if he'd try to explain something... but the words just didn't come. He shut his blue rims away, lowering his hoof to reach for the board. What happened after was a complete shock for everypony.

"Oh my Celestia, ten points from Fancy Pants!" Feed yelled in sheer awe, turning to the unicorns by her right "I think that you took his breath away spoke for itself. This sums up to twenty three points total, well done."

Numbers flooded Rarity's mind as she tried to recall the other competitors' scores. However she couldn't remember them accurately in the heat of the moment. They couldn't stand all day there, of course, as such they turned back to finally have some rest in their dressing room before they announce the winners. She kept staring at the stage in the meanwhile, as if she was walking on a glass floor over a canyon. In her mind, though, she was looking at the past, only recalling just a very few making it over twenty. They might even win this, yes, their chances were high.

It took them a while to comprehend that they not only can, but most likely will the competition. Rarity opened the door for themselves to have around five minutes of rest, but it was something they could not do yet.

"Couture scored twenty two, right?" Agate asked, sitting down on the small chair by the mirror, clopping her hooves against the table repeatedly.

"I think. I'm not sure, but we'll find out soon." Rarity replied, strolling around in the room. However, that 'soon' felt like forever and beyond. Rarity couldn't help feeling stressed out, she instead began counting the times she was trotting back and forth in the room, while Agate decided to play the drummer to make time pass faster.

 

~~~

 

"Alright, ladies and gentlecolts, this is the big moment. All of our participants are here, and the letters with the results are here as well." the tan unicorn explained with unfitting ease. Behind her were all ten designers, lined up next to one another just as they appeared on stage.

A hostess brought in the three labeled letters, each containing two names. Two names of the winners.

"Third place receives a gift token of five hundred bits value, which can be freely spent on any beauty products and services in either the shops, or wellness centers." she announced, opening the letter with the help of her magic. The two mistresses' hearts were working overdrive by now, Rarity needed to take deep breaths to prevent herself from fainting.

"The third place goes to... Patchway and De'Sine!" she shouted. A huge acclamation flooded the room as all eyes were on the chubby chestnut pony and the very slender, beige stallion she was working with. Delight and happiness were emitting from their eyes and smile. Rarity also was quite happy that a friendly face took one of the winning places.

"Next up, the second place receives two tickets for the next Grand Galloping Gala, held inside the castle of Canterlot. It was a really, really thigh race, with only one point difference." she explained, opening the letter but still waiting a few painfully long seconds to torture the nerves of everypony.

"It's Pop Couture and Collar Reef!" she shouted making everypony burst out in claps once more. Collar gasped in shock, hiding her mouth behind her hooves, as if she'd won exactly what she wanted to. Couture on the other hand was engulfed in anger. She turned towards Rarity on the other side, groaning with fury.

"I guess we all know now who the winners are, but let's not ruin it, alright?" the narrator chuckled. Rarity could not believe it, nor could Agate. Could they be really them? Could they actually win?

"The first place... the winners of the five thousand bit Grand Prize..."  
Could everything they go through pay off in the end? All the fighting? All the misfortune? All the obstacles destiny threw in they path without mercy?

 

 

  
Yes.

"....are Rarity and Agate! Congratulations!" the unicorn yelled. A thunderstorm of claps with loud shouts rained upon them. Agate gave her friend a hug along with a message that couldn't be heard from the sheer noise. As the two couldn't help but look around the ponies, smiling clapping, nodding, shouting, some even having a huge grin on their faces. The jury as well, they stood up, they clapped their hooves together, though in a much slower, gentle way.

"It's your moment girls, live it." the unicorn behind the microphone added, a warm smile grown on her face as well. Oh did they live the moment, as the wild claps united their forces in powerful, rhythmic waves of applause. It was simply unbelievable.

As the sounds began to fade, Feed seized the opportunity to take control of things once again.  
"Alright, alright, thank you everypony for attending, have a magnificent day. The winners can claim their prices at the backstage tables set up, where we'd like every contestants to return their room keys." she instructed, then with a click she turned off the device and headed to the backstage as well. The crowd was dissipating, ponies left the building in large numbers, and the designers got back to their rooms to pack up.

The show was over.

 

~~~

 

Rarity and Agate was the last to leave their room, with something odd down there, something the two haven't being for weeks by now: relief. Strange... it felt so alien, as a breath of fresh air that made their body feel ever so lightweight. The dress was in the box, the box was in the cart, their nearly empty bags were on, only their wallets being the things inside them, pretty much that was all they had. The smith and the tailor left the room, the latter locking it, as the two began their journey in the empty, quiet and white corridors with checkered tiles.

The backstage was just by the stairways that lead up the actual stage. It was a small, square shaped hall, enough for two tables to fit in next to each other. It had only one though, set up by the corner. The room itself followed the scheme of the previous ones, white walls, and a chessboard of a floor, as well as two doors with windows by the left and right, one being the storage room, the other one a rather cozy looking living room. The two ponies weren't all alone of course, the cold, serious hostess that greeted them in the beginning waited for them, this time, watching over the ones leaving.

"Good afternoon, we're here for the price." Rarity asked, but the door next to the table bursted open. From the living room, a slight grey colored face revealed itself, Miss Sauvignon.

"Oh, it's just Miss Rarity and Miss Agate." she replied to the ones behind her, obscured by the door. Not for too long though, she left where she came along with the other judges who were inside, having a friendly talk with one another while waiting.

"I'd like to congratulate once more, its a masterpiece you've created here. I do hope to see you work together in the future." she complimented in person. Rarity blushed as she responded with a "Thank you.", before Prim Hemline also joined the conversation.

"Yes, congratulations. Guess I'm the only one who finds it all strange and unfitting. Maybe it's because I'm old and can't keep up these new trends." she laughed, reaching out to shake hooves with both of them, a gesture they were glad to accept. Prim had a much softer grasp than what they expected, the mare was cold and serious when it came to judging, but turned completely inside-out when all was said and done.

"Yes, it was quite an... interesting day indeed, congratulations." a masculine voice added, Fancy Pants. Fleur was not with him, though. He attempted a hoofshake, and Rarity accepted it with no difficulties. Agate on the other hoof still had a visible amount of anger in her eyes. A wild thought of cruelty passed her mind, after all, it didn't matter anymore, but she knew Rarity would remember that. Despite Fancy clearly didn't like the look of these either, he raised his right towards the smith anyway, which she accepted the same way. The two nemesis shared a look of pure hostility as they slowly shook hooves. Though they put aside their feelings for now, this was not over yet.

"Miss Rarity, Miss Agate, your price is ready, please sign this here and here." the hostess interrupted with a black suitcase and its manual. It looked like just in the movies. After signing the papers, Agate took the heavy object, and laid it down in front of the cardboard box.

"You can keep the suitcase, by the way, think of it as a bonus." Prim pointed out, laughing, as they just watched the two leaving, each other bidding farewell with a simple "Goodbye."

 

~~~

 

Soon they opened the door, however, the two mares found themselves in front of an iron fence several feet above the ground of the street. The only way was down a narrow staircase that lead them to a small street. There was nothing to do, they had to take it slow, step by step. Rarity rushed down to oversee Agate's actions, who took each step with great care. The wheels of the cart hit the concrete with seemingly serious power no matter how slow she was, but a few seconds it took until she reached the bottom, with all equipment intact.

Finally, fresh mountain air, it was a pleasure to inhale. From the sign across the street Rarity read off the way the Observatory Square was, the way the came from and where they were heading as well. The Sun was settling very soon, the wonderful orange tint of the sky and enormous shadows around and underneath them indicated this. Oh, what could have been the time?

At the end of the street lied a familiar sight, familiar yet different and much more beautiful. Leading the way, Rarity knew where to go, the gap in the fence indicated the road that lead them down. However as she reached the first curve to the right she stopped to the noise of the rolling wheels missing from behind. Curious, she gazed back to see Agate stop just in front to take another look at the landscape. It clearly cast a spell over her, but who could blame her. They had plenty of time now, so the ivory mistress turned back to join her. First thing first, though, she made sure not to leave the cart out of reach, and rolled it in front of them.

The sensation could not be described by mere words. The sepia of the sunset, the gentle mountain breeze flowing in the air, the sound of a piano playing a slow, soft melody from somewhere in a house behind them.

"Did we make it?" Agate asked in disbelief. Her eyes couldn't escape from the grasp of what was in front of her, her mind could believe this was actually happening still. It all felt like some vivid dream.

"Yes, dear, we did it." Rarity comforted her. Yet, for every blessing, there was a curse. All that was left now is the bittersweet ending, a leap into the unknown future, a question she was afraid to ask, but had to "So... what now?"

Three words but it felt like three slingshot bullets to the heart. It snapped the ebony mistress out of the hypnosis in an instant, making her gaze at the twisty road in front of her. She... didn't know the answer.

"Live my life, I guess, maybe saving up some more money for a month or two... I don't know." she confessed, a painful sight leaving her mouth as she returned her attention to the beautiful scenery. Her eyes were dreamy, like one's who have fallen in love, but they emitted heart-aching sadness as well. Only then did Rarity notice what captivated her friend this much, a little village by an enormous forest, cut into two pieces by a smaller river.

 

 

 

 

  
"It's all yours, darling." she told her. Agate didn't get it for a brief moment until the seamstress gently rolled the cart in her direction. It took her some extra seconds for her mind to grasp the offer, then put together something coherent her mouth could say.

"I...I'm sorry, I can't." she muttered in shock. Of course she could, but she didn't because she learned it is wrong, especially when it came to this much amount of money.

"Take it, dear, you deserve it." Rarity insisted, her voice being soft, warm, like sand. She knew Agate needed that money by far more than she did. Canterlot despised her, her mother forced nobility upon her, her job, thus her life was on the edge of falling apart even if the smith herself could not see it yet.

"I already owe you too much, Rares, this... this is just too much for me." Agate replied, the tone of voice being all over the place from the mixed emotions. It was true, Rarity taught her so much, she housed her for weeks, paid things instead of her. Stacked with this it seemed simply impossible to repay it all.

"I refuse to take 'no' as an answer, Agate." the fed up seamstress replied, her words being quick and sharp like a rapier.

"I..." the smith replied, trying to understand if this is real and happening.

"I..." she repeated, gazing deep into the ever so beautiful blue rims of the ivory mistress, while hers began glinting and welling up with tears.

"I..." she stuttered, her voice vibrating insecurely, like a bridge whose last rope was about let go in the very next moment.

"I don't even know what to say." she burst out in tears, trying to hold them back with her hooves, rubbing them off. It was no use.

Rarity couldn't help it either, her eyes were glimmering from happiness, as she reached out her hooves to harbor the emotions of her friends. Agate didn't hesitate but charged at her as the two found themselves in the sweet embrace of one another.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you... thank you." Agate sobbed, as Rarity held her thigh to her heart, brushing her mane to calm her down a bit.

Moments like these were what made her life worth living, living on and seeing others being as happy as they can possibly be. This was what was driving her, what made a cornerstone in her morals what it was, what gave her the very element she was the embodiment of: Generosity.


	17. Fare thee well

As the door of Agate's closed, the key slid out and hovered over the shelf. Agate took off her saddlebag and put it under the hanger, while Rarity rolled her little red cart next to it. The night wasn't far away, and there were a couple more things had to be done for them here. Agate feared this moment, but she made a promise.

"So, are we going?" she asked with a joyful glee that was oozing from pain and suffering.

"We don't need to if you don't want to, dear." Rarity explained, as it was clear she dreaded the thought of this happening. What had to be done had to be done however.

"Trust me, she'll be fine with it." Agate nodded with a playful giggle, but she knew well this is not going to be the case. She knew her mother, she saw her there in the crowd, and what was to come was anything but good.

They decided to have a bit of a break beforehand, the contest sapped most of their energy not to mention they had no lunch either.

"So, the Quartzia restaurant?" Agate asked for final confirmation. Rarity nodded with a reserved chuckle. The two had been discussing about where to dine as a sort of celebration of their victory on the way home. Naturally, Agate insisted paying for both of them so she can start paying back already. Rarity knew she can't change her mind though, so she didn't even try. If that what made the smith happy, who she was to stop her?

Only a few minutes of rest they needed first, as such, both of them headed up to the bedroom to lie down a little bit. Agate jumped onto her bed with a quick aerial turn, landing on her back. A moan full of relief left her tongue as she turned towards the seamstress on her side. Rarity was laying down the sofa much gentler, being the elegant mare she was.

"I can't believe I'll be sleeping in the home of my dreams by the end of the week." she confessed, staring right into the azure rims of Rarity ever so gratefully. It was the matter of time before yet another 'Thank you' leaves her mouth.

"And it all thanks to you, Rares." she added, an expectable move by now. The tailor could see why Fleur found this a bit irritating now, Agate sure appreciated both of their help as much as possible.

"You're ever so welcome, though I think you might be giving me a bit too much credit here," Rarity pointed out "I was just merely assisting you, darling."

"That's the least in I can do, sweetheart, what you gave me I cannot repay." Agate answered, she was burdened by favors she wanted to give back, and she loved giving just as much her ivory counterpart. Rarity however, was rather caught off-guard by that strange word, one she heard from the smith's mouth for the first - and preferably last time.

"Sweetheart?" she turned her head away, but still keeping the eye contact with a very curious, raised brow.

"I just thought about coming up a filler, like your 'darling'." her friend flustered with an awkward grin. It was a special word to her, that 'darling', soothing and charming, she loved hearing it from the ivory mistress.

Rarity allowed a soft giggle to leave her mouth, with her mouth covered. She also knew what effect that word had on the ebony mistress, of course. It felt nice that her friend wished to get her to know it, even if that wasn't possible. For her, it was just a simple word, no more.

"I should refrain from using that, to be honest, somepony might get the wrong impression." she explained, but Agate already scrapped everything about this silly plan by the time.

"Yeah, I think I'll leave this to you." she answered with an embarrassed look "Suits you way better.".   
The two of them shared a good laugh before moving onto a different topic.

 

~~~

 

As they left, Agate locked the door and put the jewel-adorned keychain into her saddlebag. It had both Rarity's and Belle Garde's gemstones hung on it. The dark blue sky of the night fell upon them by the time they arrived to the restaurant. It was peaceful and empty, for it was closing in less than half an hour. However, it was more then fine for the two of them.

Canterlot was so vastly different at this time of the day. Ponies were still strolling down the streets because the mild spring weather, yet their numbers were few, and everything looked so different. Rarity could just not have enough of it. She eyed the streets even after they took their seats, again, by the window.

"May I take your orders, madams?" the waiter asked. He was quite quick, the two of them didn't even look at their menu yet. He probably wanted to hurry them, though half an hour before closing it was understandable.

"Just two rose sandwiches, please." Rarity replied. She didn't want to rob the staff's time, she had some knowledge on how things in restaurants work, and she knew by this time they are usually packing up and matching numbers.

The waiter nodded, and took his leave. Memories flooded Rarity's mind. Two weeks, passed like nothing. She could still recall scolding Agate, then listening to her story about that one Gala, an event that was coming soon once again.

Then she noticed her once more, Agate, gazing at her with those deep purple eyes. She couldn't help but return the gesture, and the curse surfaced once more. They could not escape until the arrival of their dinner snapped them out of the trance.

"Your rose sandwiches, ma'ams." the waiter told them, then left them alone.

"Well, good appetite!" Rarity told her friend, who already was eating by the time. Agate still nodded with some humming as a response. She had a lot to learn, but it was something Agate had to do on her own from now... if she wished so that is.

The meal was done in just mere minutes this time, just as they planned. Agate and Rarity wiped her mouth with the serviette, then neatly folded it. Rarity giggled, it was odd to see Agate so well-mannered, but moreover seeing her enjoying it.

"Anything else I can help you with?" the waiter asked.

"Just the check, please." the smith replied with a soft, kind of high-pitched and jumpy tone, as if she'd try to mimic the seamstress. The waiter nodded and left once more, coming back in a minute or two and placing the bill on the table.

The two unicorns waited until he left and went out of sight, then Agate took her the bits out of her wallet. She left the money on the table, along with a few tips. Rarity shut her eyes as she hummed ever so quietly in herself. She couldn't have been prouder to her, after so much refining and polishing, the rough stone turned into a beautiful jewel. After all said and done, the unicorns left to visit another place, Agate's mother.

 

~~~

 

A tall house of gray with Canterlot's signature purple dome atop it, its entrance looking at one of the main streets. Agate pressed the button that rang the doorbell with no hesitation whatsoever. She just wanted to get over at as fast as she could.

Several long seconds passed until the door opened, revealing a beautiful mare just a bit taller then them, with beige coat. She had a long, just a bit wavy mane of charcoal grey that fit well with the black and white maid uniform she was wearing. Her eyes having a wonderful, orange tint to them that was warm as the sun. She looked curious at first, but soon she noticed Agate her lips turning their corners upside.

"Welcome, Miss Agate!" she greeted her with a soft, deep voice.

"Belle Garde! Hi!" the smith charged at her, as the two embraced one another "I'm so glad to see you." the maid just giggled in herself as Rarity usually did.   
It was strange, Agate could drop by and see her pretty much anytime she wanted to, yet the two still treated each other as if they wouldn't have met in months.

"Belle Garde, this is Rarity, my newest friend from Ponyville." Agate introduced her friend, making the two take a step closer and shake their hooves ever so gently.

"A pleasure to meet you." the earth pony told her, disarming Rarity for a few moments. That's what she wanted to say, word to word as a matter of fact.

"Yes, well met." the seamstress improvised a quick reply.

"It's getting quite cold out here, let's get inside, shall we?" Belle Garde explained. Her gentleness and her whole sentence structuring really reminded Rarity of... herself? Could that also play part in Agate's attitude towards her? It was quite intriguing.

Three of them headed inside. The house was as fancy as one could image. A checkered floor, beautiful, red wallpapers with fleur-de-lis patterns, golden framed pictures and a breathtaking chandelier welcomed them.

"Do you know where Mom is?" Agate asked her. Belle Garde nodded then lead them up the stairs just in front of them into a narrow corridor of the same style. Paintings, excessively decorated wooden shelves with the finest vases on them, the building had the same wibe as Octavia's except this was even larger and fancier. It would explain it, though, after all the bassist was from Canterlot as well. After a couple minutes of storlling, they arrived to one of the rooms.

"Here we are." the maid told them, but she didn't enter yet.

"Um, Rarity, could you stay here a bit more until I get to tell Mom about you? She's a bit picky with visitors, you know." Agate explained, her eyes overflowing from fear. Rarity, though a bit confused she was, respected that and let the two of them enter at once.

 

~~~

 

"It's Miss Agate, madam." Belle Garde said, entering first, followed by the ebony mistress. The room was dark, only the shadows and silhouettes indicated the locations of the shelves, wardrobes, nightstands and the gigantic bed with a roof, similar to Rarity's. The only light source was the Moon itself, shining through the glass of the enormous window lighting up the room, and in front of the window sat a figure.

"Years, and years, and years have passed, but I knew..." she said, turning around and revealing herself "I knew, one day you'll learn what's good for you, and return to me."

A tall unicorn of light blue, with darker blue, short curls and slightly slanted eyes that shined like pure gold, Tinpan Alley. In front of her pearl necklace she held a teacup and a small dish, both engulfed by a golden aura that was her magic.

"Good Evening, Agate." she greeted her, at last. While not as young as Fleur-Dis-Lee, Tinpan was one of the top models Canterlot could possibly offer.

"Greetings, Mother." Agate replied. Her mother was very satisfied about her daughter, that was clear.

"You might not have noticed me, but I was at your little competition too. You weren't a top model, but for first try it was quite good." she explained, filled with pride and happiness inside, but remaining still outside, only taking a gentle sip from her tea.

"Well, yes, I didn't notice you. The flashing cameras made it kind of hard to see." Agate explained, hoping she can get away from this embarrassing situation, but she knew well its just postponing the inevitable clash.

"Oh, I know, it takes some time to get used to, but all that matters now is that you won the money and the reputation." she replied, along with a gentle swing of her hoof "So, did you find who you're going to invest in? The headlines won't be talking about you forever." she giggled, taking another sip.  
It was so typical from her, Tinpan wanted to be nothing but a trophy wife once more, just like Fleur. Having fame, fortune and a husband to buy all your heart desires was her paradise... her, but not her daughter's.

Agate swallowed hard, she knew well what's going to come is not going to be pretty.  
"My friend, Rarity. I'll be moving to live with her in Ponyville."

Tinpan began coughing, the tea she was to gulp now was in places it shouldn't have been. She dropped the cup and dish, the former hitting the floor hard enough to break a larger shard off it. Belle Garde rushed to the models aid, but she tossed her aside. The model wiped a bit of the liquid from the corner of her mouth, as a furious, long roar left her mouth.

"What?!" she groaned, but she couldn't help but cough some more instead of continuing.

"I'll move to Ponyville, to make new armors and hang out with new friends." Agate responded in a cold, serious manner, sitting completely idle while her mother got better on her own, even Belle Garde decided not to interfere this time, she knew what that last act meant and decided to clean up the mess after the storm was over.

"Why would you even go to Ponyville? Only dirty peasants live there. That no pony's land doesn't even have normal roads." her mother shouted.

"No, there's more than that there, Rarity's a tailor, Aloe and Lotus have a spa, and Twilight runs a library, if you could take a look already you'd see." Agate replied, taking up the aggressive volume of her mother. Her words fell to deaf ears, however.

"That Rarity, she was with you on the stage. You befriended her?" Tinpan noted, snapping towards the maid on her left "You didn't let her in, did you?"

Belle Garde shut her eyes and shook her head gently, despite said mare was just behind the very door in front of her. Rarity heard all of that, of course, but despite the mare testing her limits she remained as calm as she could be, and kept listening.

"You don't know her, so don't judge her!"

"But I know what's good for you, I am your mother." she yelled back "I won't let your beautiful skin and those delicate hooves soiled by that filthy place. Don't even think about it!"

The furious screams echoed through the entire building, as the two let out a groan through their clenched teeth before Tinpan continued in a somewhat calmer tone.

"I raised you, I always gave you the best of all things, tolerated your mistakes, that you turned towards your father's path, that you humiliated me in front of Canterlot, and that's what all I get in return?" she asked, though pulling that card just made Agate even more enraged.

"You tossed me around like a pinball, raising me into whatever tool you wanted me, not even caring what I actually wished for or anything!" Agate lashed back out at her very mother "I made my decision."

"I forbid!!" Tinpan screeched at her on the top of her lungs, as if Agate'd have troubles understanding.

"I don't care! I'm big enough, I can handle myself." the smith shouted back. A moment of silence took place between them, as the two menacingly stared at each other's irises.

Then the model closed away hers.  
"Hmpf, fine, be that way." she huffed "However, don't you dare come back."

An audible gasp was heard from outside, Belle Garde recoiled, almost frozen solid from what she just heard.

"M-madam Alley-"

"Belle Garde shut up!" Tinpan shouted at her, turning back to Agate at once "I've let her put us to shame for more than enough time."

Agate hardly could believe it, her mind still tried to make her believe that all of this was just a terrible trick. That her mother didn't actually want to disown her. However, the ebony mistress knew well that what she stated before was the truth. Yet, despite all conditions, she couldn't help but feel attached here still, something tied her to them. She couldn't make up her mind.

"So, what is it going to be? Us, or them?" her mother asked in vicious whispers.

 

 

 

  
Agate shut her eyes off. She stood up. She turned around. She walked over to the door and told them her last words:

"Fare thee well."

The door opened, as the mother watched her very daughter gaze into her eyes. Agate's were filled with anger and sadness, hers were tinted by defeat and disappointment. Yet, it ended like lightning, and the model only awoke from this mysterious trance by the sound of the door closing ever so gently. She turned around, gazing straight at the Moon.

"Where did I go wrong, Belle Garde?" she whispered, her words dripping from pain. The earth pony already had the small brush and plastic tray prepared and was just starting cleaning up the remains of the teapot.

"It'll all be fine soon, madam." she responded in her soothing, motherly voice.

Meanwhile as Agate left, a worried sick, frozen solid Rarity waited for her, her right hoof covering her mouth since she silenced her gasp. She was paralyzed, her mind couldn't grasp what have happened. Agate stepped closer, and embraced her closest friend for just a second.

"Let's get you home, Rares." she said, as she let go of her and lead the way downstairs.

"Agate, I... I-I'm so sorry." she whimpered, still shaking her head gently in disbelief.

"It's all fine, not much is going to change anyway. I think I will just keep contact with Belle Garde in letters, I don't know." Agate replied, her voice sounded ever so... lifeless, as if she wouldn't even care anymore. Maybe this was the case. Maybe she saw this coming. It was a mystery better left untouched.

 

~~~

 

There was one last thing left to do together. Agate gazed over to the lit bell tower, it was closing to eight 'o clock. They had time to get to the train station without hurrying but they couldn't allow to wonder around very much, after all they had to get Rarity's cart and bags on the way as well.

The streets were near empty by that time, only two of them roaming on them. From time to time a night guard or a tourist showed up, but the busy, wonderful city have turned its other side at the unicorns. Rarity still couldn't entirely get used to this side of the city, but it never failed to amaze her.

"Have you decided where you'll be moving, yet?" Rarity asked, though that question might have been a bit too late. Still, she'd rather look forward, towards the future, rather than mourning about the recent events that may have bothered her more than Agate herself.

"Yeah, actually, that small house on Hay Row... can't remember the number, but its on the edge of town." she explained, now in her normal voice again. Oh, she could hardly wait to move in, then decorate and furnish that empty building as she pleased. Though it would probably take more than a single day, but with friends like the ones she made, she was sure nothing could go wrong.

"That's great to hear, but I hope you know that house has a curse on it." Rarity responded, immediately going in denial afterwards "Not that I believe in such things or anything, just pointing it out."

 _'Yeah, of course.'_  
Agate's lips formed a sly grin as she hummed a bit. Liked it or not, Rarity had the blood of the little town deep inside her veins, but that was not a bother for either of them.

Finally, they arrived to the small alley the workshop was at, Agate took out her keys and opened the door, letting the seamstress in. She closed it but left the key in. Good thing Rarity pretty much kept everything by the entrance, she could just pick them up and get going. Agate's mind wondered away while she was at it, though, straight towards her decorated keychain.

"Do you think I should've gave the jewel back to Belle Garde?" Agate asked. She had a point, the mare had nothing to remember her from. The jewel was broken and cracked, but it served its purpose still.

"Hm?" Rarity hummed, turning her attention towards her friend "How about sending her one instead? Something unique just by you, I'm sure she'd love it." she explained. Rarity knew well that a present made with passion worth the most, in her eyes at least. She took up her saddlebags and signed her friend that she is ready. Agate opened the door, letting the white mare ahead of her once more as they continued their way to the train station.

With the sound of rolling wheels added, a sudden question came up in Agate's mind.

"By the way, what should we do with the dress?" she asked, raising her eyebrow in curiosity. Interesting question it was, and it got them thinking for quite a bit, but by the time they arrived to the train station they agreed on keeping it for the sake of their memories.

They entered the train station, which was almost completely empty as well. Rarity bought her ticket, and the two headed outside to spend their last minutes breathing in the cool, night air. The platform was all theirs. The forest of street lamps suddenly came to an end in front of the rails, an unusual but charming darkness was laid in front of their eyes. From the left, the rails disappeared into the forests of the mountain range, and on their right, the tracks - like an invisible wall boxed in the city, with small woods on the other side.

"Rarity, I've got something to tell you." Agate said in a very shy manner. From what the seamstress read off it, it was likely to be a confession.

"Yes?" she asked, as her friend clearly needed a push.

"You know, I got this sixth sense kinda thing, just with guardian angels." the smith explained. Rarity raised her eyebrow in curiosity, it was a miracle the Agate could still surprise her with her... 'things', for better or worse. Though she could sort of guess where this was going, she was still intrigued.

"I can't really explain it, I just feel it, and I have that feeling around Belle Garde and Fleur and... well... since these last days when working with you as well, so..." Agate continued but shied away as she was afraid to ask at first, but a few seconds later she let go of the weight.

"Could you be my guardian angel?" she finally asked with glimmering eyes. Rarity didn't really know how she felt, or how she should have felt about this at first. It was both exaggerated, bizarre, silly, cute and flattering at the same time, it was just... it was Agate, in short. Upon realization of this, Rarity couldn't help but giggle.

"Well, if you insist." she said, turning her head and only looking at her friend from the corner of her eye, teasing her.

Agate knew that meant, of course, and she was moved beyond words by this. She shut her eyes with a nod and a soft "Thank you." in response. Rarity chuckled in herself once more. A total overkill what it was but how could she not accept it?

Then bells rang up once more, four times in a row this time. The gigantic clock behind them shown exactly eight, it seemed like the train was late.

"So, what are you planning in the meanwhile?" the seamstress asked, referring to the time they was to spend apart from each other, those few days. Agate broke eye contact, staring at the darkness in front of her as she just imagined what might happen.

"I'll go to the pub me and the guards tend to hang around, make a bit of a farewell party I guess. Then I get to say bye to Fleur too, pack my stuff, all that." Agate replied, turning her attention back to the mare afterward "It'll be a busy weekend for sure." she giggled, but a small "Huh?" escaped her throat when a strange noise hit her perked-up ear.

It came from the other side, from the mountain range. It was the train, getting closer and closer.

"Well, here's my carriage." Rarity noted "Let me just say this was a truly wonderful adventure, I'm glad I could spend it with you." she added.

"Agreed, I loved every moment of it. Thank you for this journey." Agate responded, grateful as ever, but as the ivory mistress turned away to get closer to the other end of the platform she called her back.

"Rarity!" she said, stretching out her front arms wide. Rarity got the message, and just rolled her eyes over it, then smile. Fleur was so right about her.

"Oh, darling..." she sighed, her smile sweet and heartwarming as ever as she looked deep into the rims of amethyst until two of them embraced each other one 'last' time. Of course, both of them knew they'll reunite in the close future but they insisted keeping this moment special.

The two mistresses felt their tender hooves against one another's back, as they rubbed their cheeks together. As the train rolled in, the two of them broke the mold, but not entirely. They held each others hooves so they can lose themselves in the beauty that was their eyes for a few more ever so short seconds.

But it couldn't last forever, inch by inch, their hooves let go of each other, as Rarity took a step back, then one more, then one more. She turned around, trotting over to the train with the little red cart she pulled with her magic. She hopped on it, disappearing behind the machine's walls. Agate took a few steps closer to have a better look, when the purple curls revealed themselves once more, then the horn, then her head. Rarity took the bed on her side, after all probably nopony else was on the train judging by the lack of curtains drawn together. She packed her bags down on the other side of the bed and made herself comfortable while a mare closed the doors from inside the train.

After all was said and done, Rarity allowed herself to take a look at mare once more. The train hissed as it started up, as the ebony mistress started waving at her just the way her friend used to, which the ivory one returned the same way. More hisses came, as the vehicle began moving at the pace of a snail, yet they just kept waving and waving and gazing at one another. The train began accelerating and the two was harder and harder to look at with each passing moment, until they were completely gone.

Only when the train left the station entirely did the smith stop the gesture. She watched as it disappear in the dark night as her hoof slowly lowered itself to the ground. Even when there was nothing to be seen anymore, she just stared that way for a couple more seconds to let the thought sink in...

'She' was gone.


End file.
